Secrets Never Stay Secret
by nightwing1296
Summary: Cat is a child prodigy and distinguished surgeon whose life is full of secrets and fear. But when she meets FBI Agent Spencer Reid, she finds that there is more to life than constantly looking over her shoulder. Can she learn to trust him with the secret that has consumed her life, and will he still love her after he learns the truth? Will he learn them before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Cat never thought you find someone. From that horrible day so many years ago she knew her life would be a lonely one. It was all about survival, constantly looking over her shoulder, fearing that _he_ would find her and finish what he had started. That mindset became second nature to Cat. Rosie and Michael had taught her well and while she knew they would protect her, Cat still took care to learn how to fend for herself. But then the man from the bookstore came into her life.

Whenever she had a morning start at the hospital she always went to the bookstore by her work. They had a coffee in there so she got to look for a new book and get a decent coffee. The hospital's always tasted kind of funky. She sat at the same table, in the same chair so she could have a clear view of the entrance, just to watch and make sure no one suspicious walked in and gave her reason to worry. But in the past two weeks Cat started to notice a man sitting a few tables away watching her. He seemed fairly harmless; kind of cute in a dorky way. His mop of messy brown hair falling into his beautiful brown eyes. Cat started to secretly watch him too, the way he managed to fly through books unbelievably fast, almost as if he wasn't actually reading them at all. She had heard the man speak so you were sure it wasn't… _him_.

She was curious about the man in the bookstore. What did he do? Why was he always here when she was? Did he think she was cute too? Could he actually read books that fast? And most importantly, what was his name? However, she was careful not to develop a crush on him since nothing could ever happen between the two of them. It wasn't possible with the way her life revolved around being watchful and secretive. She had let herself exceed and stand out in high school and college. And even some of her work as a neurosurgeon had been published, what with that groundbreaking study and trial on Alzheimer's blowing other surgeons in her field away. But Michael had said her genius needed to be shared, _he_ couldn't hold her back too much.

Cat was a child prodigy, graduating high school at age 14, going to Harvard Medical School and residency program, and then going to Mass Gen to complete her fellowship in Neurosurgery. She became the youngest Attending Neurosurgeon at 24. She would have stayed longer at Mass Gen if Rosie hadn't been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer last year, so instead she transferred to Bethesda General Hospital in Quantico to help Michael take care of her. Since then she had gotten a little better but the doctors still keep constant watch on her. It was good for Cat to be here for Rosie since she was the only family Cat had left, after that day so long ago. Their cries always haunted her. But with work and taking care of Rosie she never had any free time to really think about it too much.

But today she let herself take a risk and do something for her. So, rather than watching the dorky man two table away like she always did, Cat closed her book, grabbed her purse, and went to the counter to buy two chocolate chip muffins. When the barista gave them to her, she walked over to the man and put one on his table.

"Muffin?" Cat asked.

He look up at her with a bewildered expression. "What? Uh…oh…hi…what?"

"I thought we've watched each other enough, might as well introduce ourselves. My name's Cat. Would you like a muffin?" she answered with a big smile. He really was kind of cute.

"Oh, um, yes. Thank you. I, uh…I haven't been watching you." He moved the plate closer to him and broke off a piece. He glanced up at her with a small innocent smile.

"Oh yes you have. I've noticed how you always glance over and watch me read when I'm here. You look back down at your book with a blush whenever we make eye contact." She giggled as he started to blush again.

"Okay, you caught me. I guess I'm not as sneaky as I thought. I'll have to work on that since subtlety is part of my job. My name is Spencer. Spencer Reid. It's nice to actually meet you Cat." He motioned to the chair across from him and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too Spencer." Her smile grew as she sat down across from him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"So, I think we've been watching each other for long enough to have a little bit of information about each other. I have a few questions though. Can you actually read books that fast?" Cat sat down in the chair and took a bite of her muffin.

"Yes, I can read about twenty thousand word a minute. I also have an IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory," Spencer mustered a small smile as he pulled another piece off of the muffin in front of him. "This is really good."

"I like to come here for breakfast whenever I get the chance. It has my two favorite things: books and chocolate chip muffins." She stared at Spencer's eyes, they were brown but there was something about them she found captivating. "So with all of that brain power I guess you're basically a genius, huh?"

"You could put it that way. I've been curious about your attendance here. You're here almost as much as I am. What do you do?" He met her gaze with a kind smile. It was tentative, as if he was unsure of how she would react.

"I, um, I work at Bethesda General Hospital. I started there a year ago as one of their new attending neurosurgeons."

"Really? You don't seem like the brain surgery type."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cat gave a small laugh but knew her face was defensive. She had gotten this sort of question a lot over the years and were used to people thinking she wasn't meant for a job like that.

"I just mean that you look more like a cardio surgeon or maybe even trauma." He picked at the chocolate chips in the muffin and looked up at her expectantly.

"Oh. Why?" She stopped taking bites of the muffin, suddenly even more curious about this man than before. That answer was the last one she ever expected to hear.

"Well, you are very observant. I've seen you watch people very intently, probably picking up on things most people would miss. You seem very intelligent and focused, reading books that most people would find old or boring but you find fascinating, despite watching every single person who gets near you. You are clearly defensive yet still caring and open. You took a very long time to come up to me after noticing long ago that I had taken interest in who you are, and despite a defensive nature still wanted to come introduce yourself. All these are characteristics those specialties require. Also you have very nimble hands which a cardio surgeon needs to handle an organ as delicate as a heart, though I can imagine a brain would need the same care and agility," Spencer never broke eye contact while he analyzed every single movement he had witnessed over the course of the past few months. Cat stared at him dumbfounded. He had said he was a genius but this was something else.

"After that statement I'm wondering what exactly your job is."

"I thought it would have been obvious now. I am a criminal profiler for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"I should've guessed that, clearly I am not a genius."

"Well, with your area of medicine I assume it would require a high level of intelligence to navigate the body's most complicated organ. And medical school is a long course of study yet you seem to be very young. That is one question I want to ask, how old are you?" Spencer continued to amaze her with his keen observation skills.

"I am 25, youngest neurosurgeon at Mass Gen and Bethesda General."

"Interesting. A child prodigy I assume?"

"Is there anything I'm going to say that you don't already sort of know?"

"It's hard to get anything past a profiler, and I was also a child prodigy. Graduated high school at twelve years old," Spencer's smile was warm, but there was a tinge of sadness in his eyes. It was the same look Cat had when she looked at herself in pictures. She and Spencer had more in common than just their high intelligence. But before she could say anything more her pager went off.

"Well Spence, it's been fun but I need to go save a life. Same time tomorrow?" She looked at her page while grabbing her bag.

"I hope so," Spencer held out his hand and she took it. She met his eyes and smiled, hoping she made the right decision talking to the boy genius. Before she could let herself get too carried away, she let go and headed out of the bookstore.

Cat rushed to the ER after changing into her scrubs. Following her pager's directions she made her way over to the trauma room where a group of doctors and nurses were crowded over a man in his mid to late thirties. He had cuts along his arms a huge bruise on his chest. From the injuries it appeared he was in a car crash but she knew conclusions wouldn't help this man.

"What've we got?" Cat said loudly as she rushed up to the patient's head.

"Male, mid-thirties, car accident. He was on the passenger side when a car slammed into the driver's side. His head hit the passenger side window pretty hard." The nurse who was checking his pulse called back to you.

"Alright, we need to get a head CT stat, his pupils are enlarged, I need to see how badly he's bleeding before I get in there," she checked his eyes while calling for what she needed. "Let's get up there now, from the looks of his right eye it's bleeding fast."

The other doctors helped move his gurney out of the trauma room with Catby his head. As soon as they left the room Cat heard a female voice calling her name. She let go while she turned to see who it was. Running up to her was her good friend, Savannah Hayes.

"Dr. Grant, was that the passenger from the car accident?" Savannah looked nervous, her eyes starting to water.

"Yes, we're taking him up to CT. It looks like he has pretty bad head trauma. Are you okay?" Cat put a hand on her arm.

"Please, you need to save him. His wife is a good friend of my boyfriend's, they're good people," she squeezed Cat's hand in a desperate plea.

"I, I will do my best. But you should call your boyfriend, it doesn't look good," Cat replied. She gave her friend a quick hug before rushing over to the elevator with her patient. She looked back at Savannah before the doors closed. It was going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Spencer's POV**

Spencer headed to out to the office a few minutes after Cat had rushed out. He had come to the coffee shop a few times over the years he'd been working at the BAU, but he didn't start coming regularly until Maeve had died almost a year ago. When he'd finally gone back to work he knew he needed something to keep his mind off of her death. The bookstore had been his little haven of peace and quiet. It had books, it had coffee, and it had her. While he felt guilty about moving on from Maeve, it was calming for him to watch her and make up his own story for her. He could not deny she was beautiful, with her long brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He did not realize how clear and sharp they were until she was sitting in front of him. They were just like the sky; he could have stared into them for hours. Spencer never would have gotten up the nerve to talk to her, he just liked watching her get lost in her books and analyze the world around her. If Derek had ever come with him to the bookstore he would have forced Spencer to go introduce himself, just like how he had gotten him to talk to the bartender during that one case. Or teased him about his fascination with Cat just like he had with Lila.

However he could not figure out why she watched everyone who walked through the doors so intently though. It was like she was waiting for someone. Every time anyone would walk past her table she would tense up as if waiting for someone to grab her. It worried him, which was another reason he watched her so intently as well. He felt protective of her, which he did not understand since he had truly only met her moments ago. But there was a connection between them. Spencer thought she had felt it too whenever their eyes would meet across the coffee shop. Maybe that was why she had finally come over to him. Cat was even more interesting than Spencer had imagined. She was funny, smart, beautiful, and kind. He smiled just thinking about her as he walked to the subway.

Why was he so happy? There was a feeling in his stomach he could not quite place. It was the same one he had when would wait for Maeve to call him back. He got a pain in his head when he thought about Maeve. Cat was a betrayal to his love for Maeve. Maybe he should not go back to the coffee shop tomorrow. But then he felt sad when he thought about not seeing her tomorrow. He talk to Alex about this when he got to the office, she would know what to do. Alex was his confidant when it came to emotions, she understood his logical side better than the others. She was the first one to know about Maeve so he was sure he could trust her with this dilemma.

However when he entered the bullpen it was chaos. Everyone was running around grabbing bags and throwing files into them. JJ was hysterical with tears running down her cheeks and her hair falling out of a ponytail. Derek was consoling Garcia about something while trying to talk with Alex about something. Hotch was on the phone in his office and also talking to Rossi. Spencer instantly went up to JJ since she looked like she needed the most help.

"JJ are you okay? What's happening here?" He reached out to touch her arm but she instead pulled him into a hug.

"Reid thank god you're here. Will was in an accident. Some maniac they were chasing ran a red light and when they went after him someone T-boned them. He's in surgery but his partner died on the way to the hospital. I need to get over there now." JJ sobbed into his shirt and held him tight.

"Oh god JJ I'm so sorry. Do you want me to come with you? I haven't unpacked anything so I can leave as soon as you can." Spencer awkwardly returned her hug, he wasn't used to this but he felt it was the right thing to do.

"Thanks Reid. Hotch said we could all go and he'd call us if any cases came in." JJ pulled away and grabbed her bag. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hands shaking as she slung the strap over her shoulder. She walked to the doors with Spencer closed behind. Derek, Penelope and Alex followed. Reid was worried about JJ and Will, but maybe at the hospital he would be able to see Cat again.

 **Cat's POV**

It was a long surgery; the bleed was even bigger than Cat had anticipated so it took a while longer to get control of. However it was a successful surgery and they transferred Detective LaMontagne to the ICU. While she was sure she had gotten all of the bleed, she wanted to be sure nothing else started bleeding and he was out of danger for a seizure. Spencer was right after all, the brain was the body's most complicated organ. Because of his condition, Cat made sure he was all set up in the ICU before going to inform the family. All machines were set up and working, so she made sure the nurse was watching closely before going to the waiting room. She was not prepared for the sight she came upon.

The waiting room was usually a crazy and uncomfortable place to be, but today it was full to the brim. At least a dozen cops in uniform and seven others in regular clothes were all seated in the small room with varying expressions of worry and sadness. Cat walked in slowly and called, "Mrs. LaMontagne?"

A blonde woman with a tear stained face ran up to her and asked, "How is he? Can I see him? Is he awake?"

"Mrs. LaMontagne, I'm Dr. Grant. I am the neurosurgeon on your husband's case. His brain was bleeding very heavily but we got in under control. It has stopped for now but I want to keep him here for observation. He has not woken up yet, but with the amount of bleeding from his injury it is not uncommon for him to be asleep for a little while. We won't know the amount of damage until he wakes up," She kept her voice as calm and soothing as she could. She was already very upset and with this type of injury she did not want to worry the woman more.

"Can I see him though?"

"Yes, he is in the ICU right now. I can take you and one other up to his room."

"Reid, please. Can you come with me?" The woman looked back to the group she had been with and she was surprised to see a familiar face. Spencer came up next to Mrs. LaMontagne and smile at Cat.

"Oh, hello. You two can follow me through here," she gave Spencer a quizzical look while she led the two of them out to the ICU. The blonde looked up at Spencer questioningly but he just shook his head. When they reached Detective LaMontagne's room his wife ran up to his bed and grabbed his hand. Cat nodded to the nurse to give them a moment alone. She stayed in the doorway with Spencer as they both observed the two. "I didn't expect to see you again today."

"JJ works with me at the BAU; we came over to the hospital right after I arrived at work. I'm guessing that page you received was for Will," Spencer looked down at her. "I did not realize how short you were when we were at the bookstore."

"You have a very interesting train of thought Agent Reid."

"Dr. Reid actually. I have three Ph. D's. Don't assume you are the most impressive one here right now, Dr. Grant."

"I apologize for my assumption 'Dr. Reid,' I guess we don't know each other as well as I _assumed._ ' She giggled as quietly as she could so as not to disturb JJ.

"Will he be all right?"

"I hope so. I was able to stop all of the bleeders, but with brain injuries you cannot know the full damage until the patient is awake, if they wake up at all. But he seems strong, and from what I saw downstairs he seems to have a good support system with him."

"I trust your abilities. I believe he will be alright." Cat looked up at Spencer surprised. "From what I know of you already you seem very capable in your job. And I may have had a friend look you up while we were waiting." Spencer had a small mischievous grin plastered on his adorable face.

"Dr. Reid, I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship."


	4. Chapter 4

***Thank you everyone for the follows and favorites! This is my first story here so I'm in the trial and error process still, but the reviews and reception really help. I apologize for that horrifying mistake in POV in the last chapter, it was a late night of writing and I guess I wasn't paying attention when typing. Thank you all who pointed it out, I have fixed it and replaced that chapter with a corrected one. And I also apologize for the long wait, I got back from vacation and am getting back into the swing of work and stuff. I hope all is forgiven with an update of two chapters! Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Cat's POV**

Cat headed home that night with a smile on her face. She had saved a life, made a new friend, and gotten off work in time for weekly dinner with Rosie and Michael. It was a longer drive to their house than she liked but they always made it worth it. A delicious scent filled her nostrils before she even entered the modern Victorian home in Fredericksburg. After ringing the doorbell, Cat waited on the porch for the familiar sounds of laughing and singing to come to the door. It was only a few seconds before a familiar face opened the door to greet her.

"Catrina! You made it! Oh it's so good to see your darling, come in!" Rosie pulled her into a crushing hug and the smell of perfume consumed her. The comforting smell brought back soothing memories from her childhood. Seeing Rosie was always a comfort.

"Is that my flighty niece at the door?" A deep voice called from the direction of the kitchen. "Where is that rascal?"

"Hi Uncle Michael!" Cat yelled back when she was released from Rosie's hug. A muscular figure emerged in the doorway and pulled her into the biggest bear hug she had ever received. With the amount of affection she was receiving, it felt as if the two hadn't seen Cat for years. However they had all been together last week when Rosie had received news that her cancer had not progressed any farther from last year. According to the doctors she most likely had another year or so, but that was better than the first prediction of six months when Rosie had been diagnosed last year.

"Maybe we should change this meeting to twice a week. I feel like I never see you," Michael said as he finally released Cat.

"I believe if we did that you would most definitely get sick of me. I already call you every night along with weekly dinner," Cat laughed as she pushed past him to get into the air conditioned parlor.

"Oh we could never be sick of you Kit Kat. Now, dinner is almost ready so why don't you help Michael set the table?" Rosie pushed her husband in the direction of the dining room while she headed back to the kitchen.

"Alright alright, I guess we could manage that," Michael smiled as he and Cat went over to the large dining room on the left. The room was an open space with large glass windows covering the two walls. Beige curtains complimented the pale blue walls and white fireplace in the back. A mahogany table sat in the middle of the room under a beautiful glass chandelier. It was a simple but elegant room that matched the personalities of Cat's aunt and uncle. They were very wealthy, coming from Michael's work with the government and Rosie's popular wedding planning business. Two unlikely people coming together in the wake of tragedy and finding happiness. Their story always made Cat happy and gave her a sense of hope, but she knew it was rare. She looked at their wedding picture, which hung above the fireplace on the back wall and smiled. It was her favorite picture of the two of them. Michael followed Cat's gave and murmured, "That is my favorite picture of her."

"It's my favorite picture of the two of you. That was the first day I was genuinely happy after everything that happened. We got to start over, become a family again. I can't thank the two of you enough for what you did," Cat leaned into Michael as he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "We should set the table before Rosie decides to replace dinner with another vegan experimental dish.

"I just might!" Rosie's voice carried over as she entered with a platter of steaks. "What have you two been doing in here?"

"Testing how fast you can cook apparently," Cat laughed as she pulled out placemats and napkins.

As soon as they finished the table Rosie had brought out a pasta salad and asparagus, along with a very expensive bottle of wine. Dinner was delicious as it always was with Rosie's cooking; the conversation was filled with updates from everyone's week and Michael's hilarious commentary of Rosie attempting to try dancing to hip hop. He promised to film it next time and send it to Cat as a pick up on a rough day at work. She agreed it probably would help and went into her update about the successful surgery she had today.

"So Cat, anything happening in that other part of your life you seem to forget about?" Rosie asked, a sneaky gleam filling her eyes.

"Actually, I met a really nice guy at the bookstore today," she responded as she took a sip of wine.

"Wait, really? I never expected to get a response to that question," Michael almost spit out the food he was chewing, so in shock to forget about manners.

"Yes, surprisingly I am a girl who likes to have conversations with new people. His name is Spencer and he is actually a very interesting person. From what I have observed at the bookstore we have the same taste in literature."

"Of course the detailed response would sound like a lab result," Rosie shook her head but was clearly happy for her niece.

"What does this Spencer guy do exactly?"

"He works for the BAU. Do you know him Michael?"

"You said his name was Spencer, right?"

"Yes."

"I don't know him personally but I have heard of him. Supposedly a genius from what the guys at work say. And a very genuine guy, a little awkward though. And yes, you two would get along very well. I can have some of my guys do some more digging on him." Michael nodded to Rosie to calm her a bit; she was definitely worried about her niece getting involved with anyone.

"Are you sure it's okay, Cat? Knowing someone who works with the FBI after everything that's happened?" Rosie was worried for her niece, their history with the FBI was not exactly picture perfect, and digging up painful memories was not something she was sure Cat would be okay with doing.

"I'm fine Rosie. He seems sweet and it's been sixteen years, I doubt he knows anything. I'm ready for a friendship outside of work," she took her aunt's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Okay, but only if you're sure. The first sign of anything out of the ordinary, you give Michael a call and he'll get you away from here."

"I doubt it will come to that, but I promise I will."

"Good girl," Rosie smiled and took her hand back so she could cut some more steak.

"Of course the first guy she actually seems excited about is for friendship," Michael laughed thinking about Cat's last comment on Spencer.

"Hey, I said I'm ready for a friendship, romance has never been a part of my life plan. And I don't think I'm ready to let someone in that much yet. You guys are like a miracle after what we've been through."

"But you shouldn't take it completely off the table. Give it a chance if something does blossom out of whatever you and Spencer are starting here."

"You two are ridiculous. Why do I still come to these dinners?" Cat shook her head and stabbed her last piece of steak.

"Because our ridiculousness keeps you from turning into a robot." Michael and Rosie laughed while Cat watched them and smiled. She loved her aunt and uncle but they were almost too much for her. They were the bright light in her messed up world. She wished so much she could trust someone with her life as much as Rosie did Michael. Could Spencer actually be that person for her?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Spencer's POV**

Unfortunately the team had to leave for a case the day after Will's accident. It was always a difficult case with snipers, especially when they remind him of his first sniper case with Philip Dowd. He always got upset when thinking about how difficult it was to get the FBI to approve him handling a gun. At least now he could almost shoot straight. And Derek does not bug him about being a bad shot anymore. But the case also makes him think about Gideon and how much he misses him. Spencer shook his head, they caught the criminal before he could kill his final target. They saved the woman and now she was finally free after years of living in an abusive relationship. He never knew how cruel people could be to each other but each case he worked brought to light a new level of human nature and its darkest parts.

At least now he had time to unwind and clear his head of the past case. And JJ could go see Will; Spencer had Cat update him on Will's condition so he could keep JJ focused throughout the case. He was still stable and she hoped he would be waking up any day now. JJ was anxious the entire trip back to get to the hospital and see him. Spencer was mostly anxious to get back to the coffee shop. He hadn't talked to Cat in person since the accident and he wanted to see her again. As he walked through the front doors of the bookstore he could picture her smiling from her table as he walked up into the sitting area. But she wasn't there. Cat wasn't sitting at her usual table. It was empty. Disappointment began to fill him as he slowly turned to go over to his spot. Spencer didn't think his absence would affect their routine that had been constant the past few months, but maybe she was upset about him being gone and couldn't return after the routine had changed.

However, when he turned around he saw someone sitting at his table. Someone with long brown hair and a floral dress. And on the table in front of the empty chair was a chocolate muffin. Spencer quickly walked over and asked, "Mind if I join you?"

"Oh good, I thought I would have to eat two chocolate muffins again. Good to see you Spence," Cat looked up at him and smiled. "I hope you don't mind me crashing at your table."

"Not at all, I was worried you left after I hadn't been here. There was a pretty rough case we had to solve in Dallas so we had to fly out there and it took a lot longer than we expected. I'm always amazed at how difficult snipers are to catch but this one was almost impossible. Our Unsub was a former South African sniper and he could stay awake for nearly three days when scouting out his target…" Spencer knew he was starting to ramble but he had to explain before Cat decided she couldn't handle his job.

"Spence, it's okay. I understand. I'm used to BAU cases being long and far away," Cat cut him off before he finished.

"You are? Why?"

"Oh, um, I mean, I just…I know what it like is to have a job that takes you away from family and requires a lot of time." Cat struggled to form her sentence and looked down at the muffin in front of her. Spencer could tell she meant something else but didn't push her. They were starting out a friendship and he knew if he pushed she would pull away.

"Yes, I can imagine you get some difficult surgeries that require your time. Accidents happen all of the time here."

"That's what I meant. I once had a surgery that took nearly 24 hours, my parents thought something had happened to me because I missed our daily phone call." Cat laughed as she broke off a piece of her muffin. Relief showed in the way she dropped her shoulders subconsciously. She was hiding something.

"You call your parents every day?"

"Well, yes. They worry about me, things have happened to us in the past and it just reassures them knowing I'm at the hospital working with a patient or on my trial, or that I could get off work early and be home at a decent hour."

"I feel like a terrible son now. I try to write to my mother every day but I cannot get up the courage to call her."

"I'm sure she understands if you can't call her. She probably appreciates the letters just as much. They convey a much more intimate level with writing. The thought process and dedication that goes into letter writing is just as meaningful, if not more, than a phone call."

"I don't know. I can't explain it right now, my relationship with my mother is a little complicated," Cat was easy to talk to and they clearly had a connection, but Spencer did not trust her with all of the complicated parts of his family history. If she was keeping things from him at the moment, he could keep this from her. "You said you were working on a trial?"

"On Alzheimer's. I've been doing research and experiments to find the cause and ways to delay the effects of it. I started it after my residency at Mass Gen and brought the majority of it when I transferred down here. Hopefully I can find a cure at some point but I don't want to get too ahead of myself. My aunt always tells me I tend to let my genius go to my head," her laugh was beautiful. It was so smooth and genuine, a weird feeling took over Spencer whenever he heard it.

"My team tells me the same thing. But that is quite a trial, I would love to read your research sometime. I always hoped to find a cure for Schizophrenia when I was younger, but then I decided to join the FBI and they recruited me for the BAU. I never really started researching the disease, though I would still love to find something to stop it." Her eyes too. Spencer could stare into them forever. They were captivating and seemed to analyze everything they looked at.

"Schizophrenia is an unusual topic to be interested in for a profiler. Why do you want to research it?"

"That is a story for another time. But in short, it's in our family and I want to save others from having to go through what I have due to the disease."

"A very noble cause."

"Thank you. Now, why did you transfer from Mass Gen to Bethesda? It's an odd move for someone working on a successful trial." Spencer could see her shoulders tense up again. He hoped he wasn't as easy to read when she brought up his mother.

"I…I…well…" She was struggling to trust him. He knew their friendship wasn't strong yet, but he wanted her to trust him.

"You can tell me. Like you said, 'this is the start of a beautiful friendship.'" He tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"Hahaha, you're right. My au-my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer last year and was given six months to live. I moved down here to help my dad take care of her." She smile back while starting to eat her muffin again.

"I'm so sorry. How is she?"

"She's actually doing a lot better than they expected. They've given her another year. She's strong, a fighter. Mom was always my role model when I was younger and after watching her go through this I see a lot of why I looked up to her." Hearing her talk about her mom made Spencer think about his. Even though he used to get embarrassed about her, he still respected how she raised him while still being so sick. She stopped taking her medication while she was pregnant with him just to make sure he would turn out okay. She fought the disease to raise him properly and on her own. His mother was a fighter as well and he loved her for it. "Well, we should both be getting to work."

"What? Oh, wow, you're right. I didn't realize how late it was," Spencer jumped up from his seat and shoved the last of his muffin in his mouth.

"You were late Spence, but I guess I can forgive you. You did catch a criminal and saved a woman's life, so you had a good excuse. But I hope we can talk more tomorrow."

"Me too. I'll see you tomorrow, Cat." Spencer watched as she smiled and walked out of the store. He couldn't place the feeling in his stomach but he knew the last time he felt it was when Maeve said 'I love you.'


	6. Chapter 6

**So anything in italics is a flashback. Some of this might be a little confusing but I promise eventually everything will make sense. Sorry guys, no Spencer in this chapter but I promise he will be in the next one!**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Rossi's POV**

A few days after getting back from their last case, David Rossi offered to accompany JJ on her next visit to the hospital. Will had finally woken up the day they returned and everyone on the team wanted to see him. Hotch had told JJ to take a few days off to help Will get out of the hospital and settle in to recovery and any therapy sessions he needed to do. Today is the date that Dr. Grant had told JJ she would discharge Will if he passed his last neurological exam. He had never actually met the doctor, but he was very eager to as he had heard amazing things from everyone else who had visited the hospital. Rossi was either busy with the case or his publisher but he figured they would need some help with this, whether it be physical or emotional support, so he offered since the rest of the team seemed to have plans today.

The two agents entered Will LaMontagne's hospital room to find him still asleep. JJ walked over to the chair by his window and began packing up the remaining items on the bedside table: a book, a case file, a tooth brush and tooth paste. Rossi sat in the chair by Will's bed and began checking his email on his phone. There was some junk mail and various messages from his newspaper subscription which he disregarded, however he did open the one from his publisher. The company was trying to get a book out of him about the Replicator, but he was not quite ready to return to that subject. Thinking about the case caused his mind to wander to Erin and he could feel his eyes get a little warm with tears. He blinked a few times to clear his mind, he would not cry here. It had been a few months, he was over it and would not let it affect him. _You need to move on David_ , he thought to himself.

The sound of footsteps entering the room jolted him out of his thoughts. He turned to see a very young, very pretty girl walk into the room. She was wearing a white lab coat and carrying a clipboard, so she must be one of the doctor's. Maybe an intern? She was so young though. When she entered the room she glanced up from her clipboard and saw Will still asleep. The girl smiled and walked over to where JJ was on the opposite side of the room.

"Agent Jareau, would you like to come finish up the last of the discharge papers outside while we let your husband sleep?" The girl asked JJ.

"Of course, although I think Will has gotten enough sleep for the next year," JJ laughed as she started to head towards the door. The girl turned around to head out when she noticed Rossi sitting in the chair.

"Oh my gosh!" She jumped seeing the older man sitting quickly to the side. "I am so sorry sir, I did not see you sitting there. Wow you are really inconspicuous."

"Dr. Grant this is Agent David Rossi. He offered to help me get Will back home today," JJ laughed as she motioned to Rossi.

"Ah, this is the famous Dr. Grant. It is very nice to meet…" Rossi stopped when he finally got a good look at the girl's face. There was something about her face. The heart shape? The freckles? The eyes? He knew it from somewhere but he couldn't place it. This never happened to David Rossi. While he was no genius like Reid, he could always place a face or a name. It was part of his job after all. But this girl, this doctor. Rossi knew her from something long ago.

He stared into her eyes, those piercing blue eyes. They were haunted, sad eyes. They were searching his for something. They were the eyes of someone who had seen things they never should have. They were the eyes of someone knowledgeable far beyond their years. But above everything else, they were the eyes of someone he knew, someone who knew him. But he couldn't remember and it was killing him.

 _A girl sat on the floor outside the doors of the BAU. She leaned against the wall under the pictures of the fallen agents, her knees pulled up to her chest and head resting on top. Brown hair fell in a curtain around her face so no one could she the tears stream down her cheeks, but the shaking of her shoulders gave it away. Tiny hands gripped the plush arm of the toy bunny lying next to her. Agents were running around the hallway in a frenzy so no one noticed the devastated little girl who had seen too much. No one except Agent David Rossi. He walked from his desk inside the bullpen out to the girl who he had been searching for. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shaking shoulders._

"Rossi? Rossi? Dave!" JJ had clearly been saying his name for a while before he finally registered it. "Dave are you okay?" She shook his shoulder to get him out of whatever memory he was lost in.

"What? Oh, JJ, I'm sorry. It's very nice to meet you Dr. Grant. If you don't mind I need to get a drink of water. You two go finish up whatever paperwork you have and I'll get the rest of Will's things," Rossi quickly left the two women and headed for the bathroom. He had no idea what had just happened to him or what memory had suddenly popped into his head. One thing he was sure of was he needed to figure out how this girl was and why she caused him so much sadness.

 **Cat's POV**

Cat had never thought she would see that man again. She had made a point to have no connection with anyone from her past. Michael had told her that almost all those agents had retired or transferred. She was sure helping the BAU would cause no accidental encounters with anyone she had made a point to avoid. But then why was David Rossi sitting in Detective LaMontagne's hospital room?

She was grateful Agent Rossi had not said anything. He seemed almost as shocked as she was, if not a little bit more confused. Maybe he didn't remember anything? That might be wishful thinking but she could hope, couldn't she? It had been years since the incident. And while she was grateful for everything that team of FBI agents had done for her, she wanted nothing to remind her of her past.

"It was nice to meet you too, Agent Rossi," Cat murmured as she watched Rossi rush to the bathroom. "Um, right out here to the nurses station, Agent Jareau."

"Alright, thank you. I am very sorry about that. Agent Rossi isn't usually like that, I'm not sure what came over him," JJ responded as she followed Cat to the desk outside the hospital room.

"It's okay, I've seen stranger things here, trust me," Cat laughed half-heartedly. "Can you get the last of the discharge paperwork and payment files for William LaMontagne, please?" Cat handed her clipboard to the nurse behind the desk and looked back into the room they had just come out of.

"Probably not as strange of things as we've seen on the job. There are some crazy people out there," JJ shook her head as she leaned on the desk counter.

"There sure are."

 _"How are you doing?" The man said as he put his arm around her shoulders. She looked up to see a man a little older than her father staring down at her. He had a dark beard and dark brown eyes. They were kind though, giving her the kindest look she had seen in the past few days. "I…I'm scared. I don't know where to go now." She sniffled, picking up Sprinkles the Bunny and using him to wipe her cheeks. "I have no one." Realizing how true the statement was made more tears come. The man pulled her close and stroked her hair with his other hand. "You have me. I won't let anything else happened to you." That statement meant more to her than the man ever realized._

"Here you go Dr. Grant," the voice of the nurse returning jolted her out of the memory. He held out the last of the paperwork and she took it, placing it on the desk counter.

"So I just need you to sign these last couple of pages and then your husband is free to go home. I have his schedule for checkups here; I want him to come in twice a month for six months just so I can check to make sure the healing process is going as it should and he is in no serious danger for bleeds or seizures. He shouldn't be but it is just a precaution I take with my patients. There are a few therapy sessions he should go to for the next nine weeks to make sure all of his motor functions are working but other than that he is perfectly fine to go back to work. And these are the papers to fill out for your insurance and anything not covered," Cat laid out the various sheets of paper for JJ and pointed to each in turn. She pulled a pen out of her pocket and laid in down. Looking up at the woman she smiled and said, "Now I hope I don't see you back in here at any point in the near future for anything other than those checkups."

JJ looked up at her, her eyes glistening and pulled Cat into a hug, "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would do without him"

Cat was still for a moment before returning the hug. "You are very welcome Agent Jareau."

JJ release Cat from the hug and began to fill out the paperwork. While she waited, Cat looked back into the room, eyes wandering to Will who had woken up and was talking to David Rossi. She moved her gaze over to David Rossi, who looked up at her and met her eyes with his. A knowing look passed between them and Cat worried if the older man had realize who she was. Fear passed over her face and she wondered if her secret was still safe.


	7. Chapter 7

**So this isn't my favorite chapter that I've written and it's super long, but there was a lot of information and interactions I wanted to happen in it before some of the bigger scenes occur in the next chapter. I apologize if you guys hate it but stick with me because a lot is about to happen after this.**

 **Also I know Harvard does not have a dance major but it's important for Cat's history so I'm sorry for that piece of fiction.**

 **Some of you are starting to figure out some things about Cat, and I'm not going to give anything away but there are some nods to her history in this if you catch what I'm hinting at.**

 **Chapter 7**

 **Spencer's POV**

Spencer and Cat had been meeting and talking at the coffee shop for nearly four months now, but despite all that he still felt that she was not telling him everything about herself. He did not expect her to be completely honest and open up her life story but he had hoped she would not be quite as much of an enigma. He did not even know her favorite book for Pete's sake! Although he could not blame her, he had not been completely honest when they had discussed past romantic history. He was not quite ready to cross the Maeve bridge with her yet.

But he did trust her almost as much as he did Morgan or Alex, and that was a big deal for him. They had similar interests, similar personality traits, and similar educational backgrounds. Those were difficult to find and therefore made it hard for Spencer to connect with people. Because of this, he wanted to know he could confide in Cat so he had to get her to open up to him.

That morning he decided he was going to ask her to be open with him and he would do the same for her. He got to the coffee shop a little early to work up courage for the upcoming conversation. He got the muffins they usually shared and her favorite drink, an iced Chai latte. And then he waited. It was only about 15 minutes when he finally saw her coming in the front doors. She looked over to their table and waved, her face lighting up. Spencer waved back and tried for a smile but he knew it wasn't convincing when he saw worry cross her face.

"Is everything okay, Spencer?" She inquired when she walked up to their table. "Ooo, you got my latte! Thank you!" She took a sip as she sat down.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Spencer cut right to the point, not wanting to waste another minute worrying about the state of their relationship.

"Of course. Why wouldn't we be?"

"I just feel like I know nothing about you. We have been meeting here for about four months yet I don't even know your favorite book," he met her eyes, searching for any sort of physical tell in her piercing blue eyes.

"Oh, well that's any easy answer. _The Giver_ by Lois Lowry," she smiled at the simple question, not quite comprehending Spencer's fear.

"But that's not what I mean. I have told you about my mother's Schizophrenia, my father abandoning us when I was 10, the various bullies I encountered when I was a 12 year old in high school. I've told you about my favorite books, movies, the various languages I know. I trust you enough to confide difficult parts of my life that took years for me to tell my coworkers, but I'm wondering if you trust me at all."

"I've told you things about my life too, Spence."

"Yes, your Alzheimer's trial, your mother's breast cancer, your physically abusive ex-boyfriend, your psychotic college roommate and your dog. But I just now learned about your favorite book. I do not know anything about you before college, or simple parts of your life that a friend should know," he was getting more and more frustrated with every sentence he had to say to explain things to Cat. The man sitting at the table behind Cat had turned around because Spencer had gotten a little too loud. Why couldn't she understand? Spencer thought they were so similar yet she clearly didn't understand what was so difficult about this situation. "If you think we are supposedly friends, shouldn't you be able to trust me with your life as much as I trust you with mine?"

"Spencer, I'm sorry," she could no longer look him in the eyes.

"Why are you sorry? Just tell me what's going on. Why is it so hard for you to talk to me about your life? You should know I won't hurt you in any way," Spencer tried to take her hand, a gesture he had seen JJ and Morgan do to him and others on the team countless times before, but she pulled away.

"I need to go to work," Cat got up quickly without meeting Spencer's eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Cat wait…" Spencer got up to follow but she was already down the steps of the coffee shop and heading to the door. He sat down defeated, picking at his muffin. Looking at the table in front of him, he saw that she hadn't even finished her latte. _That went well_ , he thought to himself sarcastically. Whatever Cat was hiding from him scared her more than whatever there was between them.

 **Rossi's POV**

Rossi's mind had been distracted for the past three months and he was frustrated with that he couldn't solve his own case. He was missing something. Those eyes flashed before him whenever he closed his eyes. He had gone over his case files, even his victim letters. Nothing. He had in his office for hours after he was supposed to have gone home just trying to match those eyes to some case from years ago.

After sitting there for another hour he finally sighed and pulled the case files from the floor and put them on his desk again. Might as well go over them again since his memory wasn't getting him any further. He read over the paperwork and analyzed every picture for a sign of those eyes or even those freckles. Something to give him a clue.

"Dave?" The voice at his door pulled him out of a case file from 1990. A little boy abducted from a playground in Florida leading the BAU to discover a child trafficking ring across the East Coast. Why was he doing this to himself?

"Good morning Aaron. Why are you here so early?" Rossi closed the file and pushed it into the discard pile. If she was one of the kids from the trafficking ring he couldn't confirm it without asking her.

"I could ask you the same thing. Have you been here all night?" The Unit Chief walked into the room and sat down in the chair across from the older agent.

"Of course not. What would give you that idea?"

"Well, you have on the same shirt and tie from yesterday. What has you so distracted you couldn't even hide sleeping here by changing into the clothes from your go-bag?" Aaron tried and failed to hide his smirk at Rossi's lack of attention to detail.

"It might just be my mind playing tricks on me. Or maybe I've finally lost my touch as a profiler. But I swear it is something. You met the doctor who operated on Will, correct?"

"Yes, Dr. Grant. She's surprisingly young for neurosurgeon. I think we found another Reid," Hotch laughed and Rossi couldn't help but join in on the joke about the younger profiler.

"Yes, her. I finally met her when I helped JJ move Will out of the hospital, and when I looked at her I could've sworn I had met her before. Long ago of course. But I had; her eyes, I knew them from somewhere and it's been bothering me ever since. I cannot place where I have seen her before but I know I need to figure it out."

"Have you looked through all the victim files? The databases?"

"Everything. I cannot find any trace of her. I wish I had access to the pictures Gideon would keep of the various families we had saved. Or maybe I really am getting too old for this job," Rossi ran a hand through his hair, an exasperated sigh escaping him.

"I doubt that's the case, Dave. She might not be a victim, she could be related to an Unsub. Have you had Garcia run her name?"

"Yes. She ran it through all FBI databases and nationwide police databases."

"Maybe just do a background check on her to see if any red flags pop up? You might remember her from something other than a case."

"And this is why you are Unit Chief. I can't believe I didn't think of that," Rossi got up to head to the Technical Analysis' office, a new fervor running through him.

"No offense Dave, but you don't think clearly when something is bothering you," Hotch stood up as well, following Rossi out into the bullpen. "When you're finished, please put those files back. Reid might go a little nuts with the paperwork out of order."

"Fine, fine. Boy Genius should be able to survive a day without _papers_ being out of place," he glanced at Reid's desk when he passed but was surprised to find the young agent was not there. His bag was next to the chair along with a cup of coffee on the desk, but no Reid. He didn't think too much of it until he came to Garcia's office and saw Spencer standing next to the blonde agent. Both were staring intently at the computer screens, pages popping up and disappearing faster than even Spencer could read them. "What's going on here?"

"Agent Rossi, what a wonderful surprise? How can my vast tech knowledge and abilities dazzle you today?" Garcia turned around, wearing a brightly colored outfit as usual. Today her clothes seemed to convey a watermelon theme with a red top and neon green skirt, and a fruit covered headband and matching shoes.

"Good morning Reid. Morning Garcia," Rossi nodded to each in turn as he entered the room. "Garcia, I was wondering if you could run a name for me and see if any red flags pop up that could connect her to the BAU or even me."

"Absolutely my wonderful Italian agent, what's the name?" Garcia swiveled her chair back towards her computer with fingers at the ready hovering above the keyboard.

"Cat Grant, neurosurgeon at Bethesda General Hospital."

Garcia looked between Reid and Rossi with confusion written all over her face. "There must be something seriously special or concerning about his girl that I just don't see."

"Why?" Rossi looked over at Reid, the same look of confusion Garcia had mirrored on his face.

"I was just looking her up for Junior G-Man here."

"Reid? Care to explain?" Rossi crossed his arms as he turned to fully face Spencer. _What could Spencer possibly want with this girl?_ He couldn't imagine Spencer being consumed with the same confusion Rossi had, unless whatever memories Rossi was trying to bring back had something to do with Reid as well…but that was impossible.

"I've been meeting with Cat…Dr. Grant…at a coffee shop near here for the past four months. But I just can't get this feeling out of my head that she's hiding something. I tried to get her to confide in me this morning but she got scared and left. After everything that happened with Maeve, I want to be able to help her before it's too late again," Spencer turned to look at the computer screen as Garcia grabbed his hand. When he looked back at Rossi, he could see they were starting to water. He felt bad for the kid, his first real relationship, at least real for Reid, had ended with him watching an Unsub kill both herself and the girl Reid had been talking to. Rossi couldn't even imagine the pain the kid had gone through, and then have the first girl since then to have almost as many secrets.

A ding from the computer made the three agents lean in to look at the results of Garcia's search. She clicked a few keys and started reading through the information on Cat Grant.

"Alright boys, here's everything on our special little lady. And I mean that literally, our tall Boy Genius here seems to have fallen for a short Girl Genius. Cat Grant, 5'1, born March 24, 1988 to Rosie and Keith Grant. Oh my, this poor girl. Apparently, Keith Grant died in a car accident in 1997 with his sister and nephew. Rosie Grant remarried to a Michael Thompson who works for the Justice Department in 1999," Garcia grabbed one of her many knick-knacks and held it close as a sniffle escaped her. Reid lowered his head as he heard the rough history of the girl from the coffee shop.

Maybe her step-father is where he knew this girl from. He remembered Michael from some of the scarier cases Rossi had seen over the years. He helped take some victims into witness protection or relocate them after an Unsub had upended their personal lives.

"Spence I think you may have found your twin or a match made in heaven, you and the Doc have almost the same history in school. She graduated high school at 14, graduated college at 18 and finished surgical residency at 23 and a fellowship at 24. I don't know how she did this but she double majored in Pre-Med and Dance. Those are the most opposite college majors ever. Why would she do that to herself?" Rossi let out a small laugh at Garcia's small angry outburst.

"I'm sorry boys but nothing is really popping out as glaringly evil or dangerous in this poor girl's background. She doesn't even have a speeding ticket so I really don't think there's anything for you to be worried about Spence. Rossi why were you wondering about her?"

"There was something about her that just felt familiar. I guess it must be her stepfather and I've seen her when he came to help on a case or something," Rossi looked over at Reid, the younger agent seemed to be even less convinced about Garcia's assurances than he was. But he didn't want to press her so he backed off.

"Garcia can you pull up her address and phone number?" Reid pulled a sticky note and pen out of Penelope's cup holder.

"Sure, but can I ask you why?" Garcia clicked some buttons on the screen and a copy of Cat's hospital employment record popped up on the screen.

"I have an apology to deliver tonight," Reid jotted down the information and then walked out quickly.

Garcia watched him leave and then looked up at Rossi, "You're not totally convinced this is all the information on her, are you?"

"I don't know, but I know my gut and it may have made some questionable decisions but it's never wrong."

"I can do some more digging if you'd like. If she's hiding anything my mad skills will uncover it soon enough."

"That would be much appreciated Garcia. Thank you," Rossi patted her on the shoulder and then followed Reid out of the 'bat cave.'

"Of course. Your wish is my command," she called out after him, the sound of keys being pounded furiously following him out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Cat's POV**

Thankfully it was a slow day at the hospital, only two surgeries scheduled and both were clipping aneurysms. Most of Cat's day was spent in the lab finishing up the last of her paperwork before concluding her Alzheimer's trial. She was sad to finish it up, but she had made some serious progress on discovering the causes and slowing down the effects of the disease in a few of her older patients. Hopefully her research would help the new trial being started by one of her old professors up in Massachusetts. Besides, this opened up some more of her time to start on a new trial. She had started to look into trials and research done on Schizophrenia. Spencer had talked about wanting to beat the disease, and while she wasn't sure she could do that, it didn't mean she couldn't try and ask him to help out.

 _No, don't think about Spencer. He's getting suspicious. You can't let him get too close,_ Cat thought to herself. This was what she was afraid of, finding someone she actually liked, who understood her. She had let herself open up to him and then messed it all up. Of course he would want to know about her past. Of course he would care. He was a good guy and he wanted to help.

But there was nothing he could do. The best agents had tried and all had failed to find _him_. He was too clever, too organized, and too _evil_. His voice still haunted her in her sleep, " _Come out, come out, wherever you are_."

The memory sent a shiver down Cat's spine. Shaking her head to diffuse any remnants of that gravelly voice, she continued walking down the hospital hallway to patient room 234. Her first surgery of the day was on 15 year old Noel Long; she had come in two days ago after a fall from her bike had caused a seizure. Cat located the aneurysm during Noel's head CT when she came into the ER and had originally scheduled the surgery for yesterday until a huge car accident had caused everything to be moved back. Thankfully the girl's aneurysm was in no immediate danger of bursting so the family was understanding when the surgery got moved.

"How's my favorite biker doing?" Cat said as she entered the room with a few nurses who would get Noel prepped for surgery.

"I'm not a biker, Dr. Grant," Noel answered with a laugh and small shake of her head. Noel's parents were sitting on either side of her bed and the smiled as Cat came up to the right side of the bed as well.

"But I thought you were riding a bike a few days ago?"

"Well, yes."

"Then you are a biker."

"Fine, but I'm not one of those scary people who ride motorcycles across the country," Noel leaned back on her pillow, her blonde hair spreading everywhere.

"I never said you rode a motorcycle, don't change any details of your daring adventures on me. I might be a little more worried about your brain then," Cat pressed a few buttons on her monitor to make sure all stats were in good ranges for surgery. Everything seemed to check out so she nodded to the nurses to start setting up the bed for transport. "At this rate of confusion you might stay here longer."

"No! My race is in a month and you said I would be ready!"

"Then go along with my jokes, I'm only messing with you sweetie."

"Not funny. Am I going to head down to surgery today? No more car accidents?" Noel looked up at Cat hopefully, her parents matching her expression.

"I have no control over those but I promise you are my top priority today," Cat smiled at each of them. "Now, we should be taking you down to surgery soon so tell your parents you love them and I'll get everything ready for you."

"Yay! Love you mom, love you dad! Can we go?" Cat laughed at the young teen's excitement for surgery. She could never understand some of these kid's dedication to sports.

"Are we all ready here?" Savannah Hayes walked in, scrubs and cap all set up. As her closest friend and one of the best nurses in the hospital, Cat had requested her for this surgery to keep her company. She also knew how much Savannah loved working with kids.

"We are indeed, can you get our patient down to the OR?"

"Of course. Thank you Dr. Grant," Savannah smiled and helped the other nurses wheel Noel out of the room.

"Alright, you both can head down to the waiting room and I will update you after we're done. The surgery should take about three hours if everything goes well," Cat turned to Noel's parents, both of them looking happy and worried.

"Thank you for helping our baby," Mrs. Long hugged her. She was good with family members of her patients but never got used to them hugging her. It still felt uncomfortable when she didn't know them well. Mr. Long gently tugged on his wife's shoulder and they both headed out to go to the waiting room.

* * *

"So Dr. Grant, my boyfriend tells me you've become very good friends with one of his colleagues," Savannah changed the topic of conversation about an hour into surgery. Usually the OR team absent mindedly discussed recent movies or news, sometimes even hospital gossip, but Cat was not used to her own life being a topic.

"I don't see how that's relevant to Iron Man 3," Cat replied as she put the retractors in place to expose a corridor between the brain and skull.

"It's not but I want to know how Dr. Reid is doing."

Cat looked up to meet Savannah's eyes, a mischievous gleam in them. A few of the other nurses and doctors were looking over at her curiously, most likely because they were just as curious as Savannah. Everyone wanted to know about her life that she had kept so private.

"He's good, I met him for coffee this morning but I needed to leave early." She would not give them the pleasure of hearing every little detail of her private life.

"Early? This is one of two surgeries you have today! What could possibly make you leave early?"

"He was being irritating." She found the artery she needed and followed it to the aneurysm.

"Yep, sounds like Spencer…" just from her voice Cat knew Savannah was rolling her eyes, this made her smile a bit behind her mask. "But from what he's told Derek he seems to really like you. Once you get past his little quirks he is actually very sweet."

"I'm sure he is, but if he would stop asking so many questions that don't need to be answered, I might stay longer for coffee. That would be a lot nicer."

"He's just being friendly, that's a big step for him. And it would be a big step for you if you answer those questions of his."

"Thank you for the advice, Nurse Hayes. I will take that into consideration next time he asks me something." There it is, now all she needed to do was clip it.

"Maybe the two of you could join us for dinner sometime."

Cat looked up at Savannah quickly before she pushed all her focus on clipping the aneurysm. She waited until it was secure before figuring out how to respond to the request.

"I don't know, Spencer and I are not dating. We've just been meeting for coffee every morning because we happen to be in the same place at the same time."

"And like the same books, and be geniuses, and love your jobs more than life itself," Savannah's comments caused the rest of the OR team to quickly giggle. Even caught silently laughed at the last part.

 _I guess it wouldn't hurt, maybe Savannah and Derek would be too focused on Spencer for him to ask any more deep questions._

"I'll think about it. But if I say yes, you both have to remember it's not a double date. Just four friends meeting for dinner."

"Of course, of course." She could tell Savannah had the biggest grin on her face underneath her mask.

"Clip is placed. Let's make sure it is secure and then we can begin to close. Get the titanium plates and screws ready, needle is going in."

* * *

Cat was ready for bed as soon as she got home. Even though the rest of Noel's surgery went perfectly well and her second surgery was just as uneventful, it still felt like she had done ten surgeries. Maybe it was the stress of Savannah's interrogation about Spencer. Keeping her face neutral and emotions in check was a lot harder than she would have thought. She had done her hardest to not develop feelings for the awkward genius but he was just too cute and too sweet. He cared about her and it had been so long since she had had anyone in her life besides Rosie and Michael. What harm could it do to have someone else in her life?

 _No, he'll only end up getting hurt. That's why you decided to be alone._

"He can't know," Cat tried to assure herself she was making the right choice. She was starting to accept it as she settled down on her couch with a bowl of Mac n Cheese. She looked around her living room, a homey room in her apartment. She lived about half an hour from the hospital on the third floor of an older building. It was small but it was home. Turning on Netflix, she let out a relaxed sigh and scrolled through her movie list. After a long day, she decided on one of her favorites, _Lilo and Stitch_. Nothing could beat a classic Disney movie.

But her relaxing movie night was interrupted by a knock on the front door of her apartment. Cat set down her bowl and took off the blanket she had snuggled into. Standing on her tiptoes, she peered through the peep hole and was surprised to see Spencer Reid standing on the other side of the door.

"Spencer? What are you doing here?" She asked as she opened the door enough to peer out but not enough so he could see inside.

"I wanted to apologize. I was rude and insensitive today and I pushed you away when we were finally starting to make progress in our friendship. Please, I want you in my life but I know how hard it must be for you to let people in. You've had heartbreak in your life, you've gotten hurt. I promise I won't be another one," Spencer was speaking faster than she had ever heard him, his eyes sincere as he pleaded for her to understand his apology.

"Spencer, I just don't want you to get hurt. There's a lot about me you don't know, that you can never know. I care too much about you for you to put yourself in danger. I'm sorry," it hurt her to push him away after he came all this way to apologize, but she knew the risks letting him in would cause.

"Cat I don't care about that," he started to move closer but Cat closed the door a little more making him stop in place. "I put myself in danger every time I go out on a case. I face serial killers on an almost daily basis. I've had a drug addiction because of one; another one shot me in the knee. I watched my girlfriend get shot and killed in front of me by a crazy stalker. I know you think you're protecting me but you're not. It hurts me to have you shut me out. I want to help, I want to be there for any hurt that you have. Whatever you're afraid of, I'll help you fight it. You just have to let me in. And it doesn't have to be right now. Whenever you're ready, I will be there. It could be in an hour, or tomorrow, or even a month from now. But I will be here for you to help you get through it."

Spencer gave her one last smile before he turned around and walked down the stairs of her building. Cat was too shocked to go after him. After everything, that was the last thing she ever expected to hear from anyone. His speech left her so many emotions she couldn't sort through them all. When she could no longer hear his footsteps on the stairs she closed the door and turned around with her back on the door. Sinking to the floor, Cat did something she hadn't done in 16 years. She cried.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Garcia's POV**

A little beeping noise told Penelope Garcia that her latest search on the doctor from Bethesda was completed. She clicked open the window and was surprised to find this search had been successful. After a week of searching, opening useless files, and watching a lot of cat videos she may have actually made a breakthrough. However she was a little nervous when she looked at her latest search.

 _Department of Justice: Witness Protection Program_.

"This cannot be good." Garcia took a deep breath and went to open the file. It was a classified document, sealed shut. But Rossi had told her to do everything she can. And when Rossi says everything, he means everything. But this might not be a hole she wanted to jump into. There might be a reason Cat was hiding things from Spencer, her sweet baby.

But they both wanted answers and Garcia would do anything for this team that had given everything for her. So she took a deep breath and typed in the commands she needed to unseal Cat Grant's file.

Then her screens went dark. The sound of her computer drives hushed. The bat cave was unusually quiet.

"No no no no no. This is not good. Not good at all," Garcia stood up and went around her room unplugging hard drives, plugging them back in, clicking all sorts of buttons and tapping the screens. "No one can outsmart me, what is happening here?"

Her phone began to ring and she contemplated whether or not to answer it. Maybe it was the hacker answering her question? Or maybe it was Derek needing advice about Savannah? Or maybe Hotch needed research on a case? The team had been called to Texas this morning to deal with a serial killer targeting prostitutes. A disturbing and gruesome case as usual. Deciding it was better to answer than let it go to voicemail, she hit the button that answered the phone.

"Hello? How can I dazzle you today my fearless crime fighters?" Garcia spoke into the gray phone, finding it difficult to keep the tremble out of her voice.

"Is this Penelope Garcia, Technical Analysis of the Behavioral Analysis Unit?" A deep voice responded on the other end.

"Um, yes?"

"This is Michael Thompson with the Department of Justice. We have gotten notice that you attempted to access sealed case files in the Witness Protection Program. This is a breach of confidentiality and a danger to any victims currently under the protection of the US Government."

"I…I apologize, sir. I promise not to do that again."

"We appreciate that, ma'am. As we speak your computers are currently being searched for any incriminating documents from the Department of Justice and all traces of the files you tried to access. This may take a few moments but your computers will be up and running again soon. We thank you for your cooperation and ask that you stay away from any files unless you get permission from the Department of Justice." A click signaled that Michael Thompson had hung up. Garcia was left in silence, her breath the only indication that she wasn't having a nightmare. It took a moment before Garcia registered what had just happened and realized she had stumbled onto something much bigger than family killed in a car crash. She quickly dialed the number of the person who needed to know this information the most.

It was only two rings before a voice answered, "What is it, Garcia?"

"Rossi, thank god. I figured out where you know Dr. Grant from. She was a victim you must've encountered on a case before you retired. I don't know the details because I couldn't access the case file."

"You, Garcia, couldn't open a case file?"

"Well, it was a Witness Protection File and when I tried to unseal it, the Department of Justice may have shut down my computers temporarily."

"Sounds like the Department of Justice."

"Yeah, anyway, something happened to Cat a long time ago. From what I've found, probably around the time she was nine years old. That's when all of her school files start, and around the time her father was killed in that car accident with her aunt and cousin."

"But it probably wasn't a car crash."

"Exactly. I'm sorry Rossi, I don't think I'll be able to get any more than that unless you want me arrested by the DOJ."

"That's okay Garcia, I can figure something out from there. Good work."

Garcia smiled as she heard Rossi hang up the phone. Even though he'd been on the team for seven years, it still made her happy whenever he complimented her work. He was almost as hard to please as Gideon was. Beeps and vent sounds filled the room as her computers finally clicked back on. The screen in front of her was blank except for her computer background. All traces of her search on Cat Grant were gone.

 **Rossi's POV**

Although he was disappointed that Garcia couldn't get him any more answers, he had enough to work on to start a base profile of Cat Grant. Whatever case he had met her on had happened 16 years ago, around the time she was nine years old and the same year he had retired. It must have been one of his last cases. Gideon had definitely worked on it with him; if only he was here, he probably would be able to pull out his victim notebook and find the pictures he'd gotten of this poor little girl.

And because of the Witness Protection file Garcia had stumbled upon, Rossi could gather they hadn't solved this case. The Unsub was most likely still out there. This would explain Cat's fear of letting Spencer in on her past, not because she was upset about her family dying in some car accident.

 _"This is the most high profile case we have probably ever faced. The unit got a lot of publicity and a lot of judgment in the way we handled this difficult situation. But you all did exceptional work with the obstacles we dealt with. It was a personal case for everyone here, this Unsub hit us right in our weak spot and any branch would have had emotional ties here. We did all we could have done but unfortunately we will have to classify this as a cold case. There are others that need our attention and we haven't had any leads for three months. Thank you all for your dedication and work following this tragic event."_

"Rossi? Rossi you in there?" Morgan shook his shoulder and tore Rossi from the new memory that popped into his head.

"Yes, sorry, must not have gotten enough sleep last night. Did I miss anything about the case?"

"No, you were just staring at Blake with an odd expression. Do you need some coffee or anything?" Morgan looked at him with a concerned expression.

"No, that's okay. The coffee might be the reason I didn't get any sleep," Rossi chuckled.

Morgan, however, did not look too convinced but he decided not to question the older agent. "What was that call from Garcia about?"

"She was updating me about a personal case I had her look into. Nothing too serious though," Rossi saw Reid look over at him at the mention of the personal case. Rossi shook his head to tell him not to ask at the moment. He was torn whether or not to inform the kid about Garcia's findings. It wouldn't do him any good to know that there were even more serious things going on in this girl's life. He could tell the kid was falling hard for her. After Maeve he didn't want to cause the young agent any more pain. Getting involved in whatever case this girl had in her past would not end well for any of them.

 **Cat's POV**

It had been over a week since Spencer had come to her apartment with his emotional speech. Cat couldn't get up the courage to call him and she didn't know what she would say to him even if she did. Would she tell him all of her secrets? Would she tell him she couldn't see him anymore? Would she spill all of her feelings to him? Rather than face her emotions she threw herself into her work. She scheduled as many surgeries as she could. She even started research for the Schizophrenia trial she had planned. But she could tell something was missing from her life.

She had avoided the coffee shop at all costs, even going so far as to drink the hospital's coffee. It almost made her give up the drink it was so gross. But she would endure as long as she didn't have to face Spencer. She didn't know how she would react to seeing his big brown eyes fill with hope when he saw her walk through those doors. Or if she could handle seeing the sadness when she left without talking to him.

Thinking about his eyes made her smile as she walked to work that morning. And then she remembered his laugh. She thought about his perpetually messy hair, which sometimes fell in front of his eyes in the cutest way. The adorable dorky smile he got when he made a joke and she laughed at it. And finally she thought about his speech, how genuine it was, and how honest he'd been. She had learned more about him from it, and not just the parts of his life that he'd revealed in it. She learned he cared more about her than she ever knew. She learned how deep his love and his loyalty went to those he considered friends. She learned how thoughtful he was. He would not push her into accepting his offer; he wanted to be considerate in giving her space. Spencer Reid was a good man and he loved her. Of all people he loved **her**. And she realized that she loved him too.

Cat turned around even though she was at the entrance to the hospital and ran all the way back to the bookstore. Even though she was 20 minutes late she hoped Spencer would still be there. They were both creatures of habit so she was pretty confident she would find him at the usual table. But she was wrong. As she burst through the doors she saw their table was empty. Disappointed filled her and she turned around again, heading back for a long day of work.

She took her time putting her bag in her locker and changing into scrubs. Maybe Spencer had given up waiting. He probably realized she was not worth waiting for. Who would wait for a girl who hadn't told a guy she likes her favorite book after four months of talking?

Savannah walked up on the other side of nurse's station while Cat was looking through her latest patient file. A new idea flashed through her mind when she saw her friend. "Savannah!"

"Oh, Cat. Hi, what's up?" Savannah gave her a wary glance. She had a pang of guilt as she realized she'd been distant since the whole OR and Spencer incidents.

"I'm sorry about everything. Spencer and I had a disagreement and I didn't know how to tell you."

"Girl, you know you can tell me anything. I may be dating his coworker but that doesn't mean I'm gonna take his side. I want you to be happy. We just thought it would be cute if our two geniuses got together."

"I know, I know. Speaking of the other genius, did they get a case recently?" Cat was relieved that Savannah understood her odd way of handling stress.

"Yeah, they've been gone for a few days but Penelope told me they were getting pretty close to solving it."

"Penelope?"

"The blonde one with the crazy outfits you met when Derek came to help Will and JJ?"

"Ah, I remember her. She seemed very nice. Different, but nice," more relief flooded her as she heard that Spencer was missing because of a case and not because she had waited too long to accept his offer.

"She is. Are you okay? You face is getting red and you're smiling bigger than I think is possible for you," even though she sounded worried, Savannah was also smiling.

"I'm fine. I'll see you after work," Cat walked away, running potential apologies through her mind for when she saw Spencer again.

* * *

Cat waited in the hospital lobby after work for Savannah. Both of them had ended up having overnight shifts because of a fire at a local restaurant. The ER had flooded with burn victims and head trauma victims when the roof had collapsed. An elderly man had a major head bleed that Cat could not stop and she was ready for breakfast with her friend. She had decided to tell Savannah about the issues she was having with Spencer, and although it had been a long night she knew her friend would need a good meal. But she saw her friend's face and knew something had happened.

"Derek texted me. They got back last night but there was an accident with Spencer on the case."

"What? Is he okay?"

"He got shot in the neck. But he's fine! He's alive," Savannah put a hand on her shoulder, the most comfort she could offer since she knew Cat did not handle hugs well.

"Can you drive me to his apartment? I don't know where he lives and I need to see him," Cat looked frantically at Savannah. Her emotions taking over rational thought; the only thing on her mind was Spencer and her fear for him.

"Of course sweetie. Come on," she grabbed Cat's hand and dragged her out. It was only a twenty minute drive to Spencer's apartment. Savannah gave Cat his apartment number and she raced inside. She was up the stairs in seconds and then pounded on his door, not letting up until she heard a voice inside telling her he was coming. The lock clicked open and then a tall figure was standing in the open doorway.

"Cat?" Spencer looked fine for the most part, besides the white bandage on the right side of his neck. He had on plaid pajamas and his hair was even messier than normal. She felt bad as she realized she had woken him up. But she pushed it aside as relief flooded her system and she did the only rational thing that came to her mind; she surged forward and hugged him. Her arms wrapped around his torso and she buried her head in his chest. It took him a moment to overcome his surprise but then she felt him wrap his arms around her and hug her back, resting his head on top of hers.

"Hi," she murmured into his pajama shirt.

"Hi," he said into her hair.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Spencer's POV**

Spencer woke the next morning to the smell of bacon and pancakes. He jumped up so quickly he got light-headed and nearly collapsed back onto the bed. No else lived in his apartment, how could there be bacon cooking? He wasn't totally complaining, it smelled delicious, but he slowly crept to the door to peak into his small kitchen area. Through the crack between the door and the frame he saw Cat standing at the stove in one of the few t-shirts he actually owned with a pan full of sizzling bacon. A plate of pancakes was on the counter next to her, steam still coming off them.

With a sigh of relief he opened the door the rest of the way and walked up next to her. "This smells amazing." He said as he took another whiff of bacon.

Cat startled a little at his words but relaxed just as quickly; if Spencer wasn't so observant he wouldn't have noticed her jump. "Good morning sleepy head. How'd you sleep?" She asked while she took a few pieces off the pan and put them on a plate next to the pancakes.

"Fantastic actually. I didn't realize you would still be here; I figured you would have to get back to the hospital," he looked at her quizzically before slowly going over to the bacon.

"I called my boss and asked for a personal day; said there were some family things I needed to take care of. Hey! No stealing!" She gave his hand a light tap when he tried to take a small piece of bacon. Spencer gave a small laugh but stopped when his neck began to throb. "Oh no are you okay?" Cat put down the spatula and went over to look at his neck.

"Yeah, just hurts to laugh," he took deep breaths until the pain eased away then looked at the bacon starting to crisp. "Go finish the bacon, that's the main concern here."

Cat laughed the hardest he's ever heard her laugh before. It was a true heartfelt laugh, nothing force about it. The most beautiful sound Spencer had ever heard. He smiled as he grabbed the plate of pancakes and brought it to the table.

"You know, your couch is the most comfortable bed I have ever had. If you don't mind I might steal it and bring it back to my apartment."

"Don't you dare, I need that to nap on. I once spent two weeks on that couch and actually considered making it my permanent sleeping space," he grabbed some syrup from the fridge before sitting down.

"Dang, I might just have to camp out here for a while; that's the most sleep I've gotten in god knows how long," Cat put the last of the bacon on the plate and then joined Spencer at the table.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that, as long as you continue to make breakfast every morning."

"Tempting offer, Dr. Reid. We'll see. But I'll need to restock your fridge. This bacon was about to go bad in two days, and you have absolutely no orange juice. That is practically un-American," she looked Spencer dead in the eye before smiling and grabbing some bacon. Spencer was so relieved to see this side of her again. After a week of no calls or texts or coffee meetings, he was afraid he had scared her off with his heartfelt speech. He had even confided his fears to Derek, and while he did offer some good advice, his closest friend was more concerned about the fact that Spencer had kept news about a potential girlfriend from him. But what else could he expect from him? He cared about Derek very much but the guy was determined to get Spencer set up with a girl.

"I'll see what I can do. It's kind of hard to keep a fully stocked fridge when I'm gone so much. But if you actually do want to stay more I can try," Cat looked up at him with a smile, as if sharing a joke, but her face became guarded when she saw how much Spencer meant it. "I am very happy you came to check on me. I was getting worried when I hadn't heard from you, and if it's not too much, I actually really missed you."

"Well, I was a little worried when I heard you got shot in the neck. But yes, I did kind of miss you too," she seemed sincere but Spencer could still see her guard was up again. She had made a big step coming over but he knew it would still be a little while before she told him about whatever she was afraid of.

He knew Rossi was keeping something from him after his last phone call from Garcia, and even she wouldn't tell him whatever information she had found. There was something bigger going on and he was determined to figure out what it was. Cat was afraid of something and Spencer would do anything he could to keep her safe.

"So what do you want to do today? My unit chief gave me the day off to recover and you called out, so we have a lot of daylight to burn without work. I can't remember the last time I had any free time," Spencer said as they finished the last of the bacon and pancakes.

"I believe I saw a chess set in your living room and I kind of want to challenge the great Dr. Reid. Savannah told me you have some pretty mad skills," Cat gave him a sly grin as she washed off her plate. "And maybe we can play that game you suggested a few weeks back."

"Game?"

"You know, the one where we ask each other questions to get to know each other better? After your speech I have a few more questions about you."

"Well then, let's get started."

 **Rossi's POV**

Coming out of the elevator on the floor of the BAU, Rossi stopped to look at the newest addition to the wall of fallen agents. It had become a new habit of his to take a few moments to pay his respects to Erin Strauss. He missed her more than he ever expected. Today was different though. While staring at her picture, he glanced quickly to the picture on her left and then glanced over again. Rossi walked a bit closer and looked at the name plate on the frame.

 _Name: Terrance Warner_

 _Age: 37_

 _Killed: April 24, 1997_

 _Where: Stafford, VA_

Rossi looked up at the face of the man named Terrance Warner. He had the sandy blonde hair of a swimmer but it was well kept and combed away from his face, laugh lines surrounded his eyes and mouth. He had high cheek bones and tan skin with a few freckles across his cheeks and nose. There was nothing unusual about the man, he was a little familiar to Rossi which meant he had probably worked one or two cases with him in the past. But what had caught his attention was the man's piercing blue eyes. They were clear but even in the picture you could tell they were full of life despite the horrors he had most likely seen on the job. It was haunting.

Looking over towards to the doors of the BAU, Rossi saw Hotch about to go in but quickly called out for him, "Aaron! I need to ask you something!"

The Unit Chief turned towards the sound of his friend's request and walked over to look at the picture Rossi was staring at so intently. "What do you need, Dave?"

"What do you know about Agent Warner?" Rossi pointed to the picture next to Strauss'.

"He was the Section Chief before Strauss. I believe he actually was named Chief a few days before he died."

"What happened?" Rossi did his best to sound nonchalant about his curiosity in the old Chief.

"I don't know the details since it was around the time I had just joined, but from the bits and pieces I heard around the office after the event, he was killed in his home by an Unsub the BAU had failed to catch." Rossi looked at Hotch in surprise, trying and failing to keep the horror off of his face.

"I thought he looked familiar to me, I thought it was because we had worked together but maybe I had worked on this case."

"Well he should look familiar to you, he was a part of the BAU before he was named Section Chief. Everyone thought you or Gideon would get the job but Warner was elected instead. I can't believe you don't remember this Dave." He glanced back at his old friend and saw concern written on his face.

"When his promotion took place it was around the time I decided to retire, everything was weighing down on my shoulders so I guess this whole commotion was just pushed to back of my memories. He had kids, didn't he?"

"Yeah, two. A son and daughter." Hotch had accepted his answer but Rossi knew he wasn't completely convinced. Rossi wasn't convinced of it himself, either.

"We worked this case for months but the trail of the Unsub went cold."

"Why are you bringing up Chief Warner now? It was a long time ago."

"No reason. I guess I'd just never looked past Erin's picture and today thought I should remember some of the others on this wall," Rossi looked down at the number of pictures that continued past Warner's. There were so many. Deciding it would be best to change the subject Rossi asked, "Have you found a replacement for Blake, yet?"

"No, but I have a few candidates coming in this afternoon. I don't think anyone will be quite as impressive as her though," he turned to head towards the office so Rossi decided to follow, an idea forming in his head.

"Well, even if you don't find one today, I think a relaxing evening is in order. Why don't we have the team over for dinner at my house tonight? Everyone can bring a guest or two and I'll make a famous Rossi original recipe."

Hotch stopped and turned to Rossi, not even trying to hide his surprise. "Are you sure you're okay Dave?'

"100%. I just believe it's time we take a good refresher after that whole mayhem down in Texas. And get to know the new people in each other's lives. Morgan has been spreading word that Reid has a potential girlfriend," that last comment was enough to get Hotch to look past the very odd behavior Rossi had just exhibited. But if it would get Hotch to give the okay, Rossi would deal with it.

"Fair enough, what time should I tell everyone to be there?"

"Seven thirty. Eight at the latest, otherwise they don't get any wine." Rossi hid his excitement. He had hatched a plan to get answers but he just hoped Reid would follow through on his expectation, otherwise he would have to find another way to confront Cat Grant.

 **Cat's POV**

It was around noon when Spencer's phone rang and he got up from the couch to answer it. They had given up on chess after only twenty minutes. They were evenly matched but they kept getting distracted in answering each other's questions. Cat had decided she wanted to be completely honest with Spencer on almost everything in her life. The incident however was something she wouldn't burden him with. Michael's story would have to satisfy him for now.

She was happy with how open he had been to her as well. She was blown away with how much he trusted her with everything he had been through. For such a young FBI agent, he had seen horrors she had never dreamed of. If her father had told her about his job, she wondered if he had experienced the same sorts of things Spencer had. How could he sleep at night with those images in his head? And Maeve. She was honored to have Spencer tell her about his relationship with the geneticist; she seemed like an amazing woman and Cat hope she could be as good to him as Maeve was. Cat felt her eyes get a little warm with tears as she remembered how defeated Spencer seemed when he recounted the story of Maeve's death.

"Cat?" Spencer re-entered from the kitchen where he had taken the call. Cat quickly blinked back the water in her eyes and looked at him over her shoulder.

"What's up, Spence? Everything okay?" She gave him her best smile, trying to be supportive when she saw the worry on his face.

"Do you want to go to a dinner tonight?"

"Sure? Why do you look like it's an end of the world dinner, though?"

"Well, Rossi is throwing it. Which is weird because he never voluntarily invites people over, but anyway, it means if you go you'll be meeting the people I work with."

"I'd love to go Spencer, but only if you want me to go with you."

"Of course I do!"

"Then that settles it, I'll be your date to a dinner party."

"So will this be like, our first date then?"

"I guess it will be." She smiled up at Spencer, unable to stop the heat rushing up to her cheeks. But it didn't matter to her when she saw her blush mirrored on Spencer's cheeks as well.

* * *

They arrived at Rossi's gigantic house at around 7:40, Spencer freaking out because they were late. Cat was laughing while trying to convince him that they were fashionably late and that was acceptable. It was partially true since they had needed to get clothes from Cat's house since Spencer had no female clothes, which was a slight reassurance for Cat. Not that she thought Spencer had any other girls in his life, but she was not the most confident person when it came to dating. They waited outside Rossi's front door for a little bit after they rang the doorbell. A faint, "I got it!" heard from inside.

Cat felt incredibly nervous for this dinner party. Would Spencer's teammates like her? She had met them briefly at the hospital but that was in a professional environment. There was food at this gathering. And no sterile atmosphere with a tinge of death in the air to keep her nerves in check. Standing on this doorstep made her remember how awkward and shy she really was. Maybe she should have chosen a different dress. She hadn't wanted to seem too formal, so she had gone with a short blue spaghetti strap dress with white lily's scattered around it and an off-white sweater. And since she knew her nerves would get the best of her coordination skills black flats had seemed like the best shoe option. She tried to calm her fears with a deep breath and continued to stare at the door.

"Would it be okay for me to hold your hand?" Spencer murmured to her, keeping his eyes on the door.

Cat looked up at him when she heard the timid tone of his voice. He was as awkward at this as she was. This gave her stomach butterflies and she responded by slipping her hand in his. She felt him give it a light squeeze just as the door opened.

"Welcome welcome! The lovebirds have arrived!" Rossi called into the house. He had a towel over his shoulder and a few spots of flour stood in stark contrast to his dark blue button down.

"Morgan told you all, didn't he?" Spencer tried to sound upset but he smiled down at Cat as they followed Rossi inside. Spices from the kitchen filled Cat's nose.

"Everyone needed to know that you have game, Pretty Boy," a deep voice responded from the direction of the kitchen.

"Don't worry Dr. Grant, we are all very friendly people who do know how to keep secrets," Rossi stared directly into Cat's eyes when he spoke. A knowing look passed between the two and her breath caught in her throat.

Rossi knew.


	11. Chapter 11

***Hey everyone! I am so sorry for getting this up so late! I just moved into a new house for school and it's been a busy week with moving and finishing up spirit week and getting started with classes. Crazy! I promise the next chapter will not take as long. Hope you all enjoy! So sorry again!**

 **Chapter 11**

 **Cat's POV**

"Well, why don't we get some food? Whatever is cooking in there smells delicious," Cat put on her best smile and hoped her years of practice hiding emotions were enough to cover her fear of whatever Rossi might actually know.

"Of course it is, I'm an Italian cooking guru," Rossi gave a slight nod and led the two into the kitchen to join the rest of his team. He went straight over to the oven where a savory aroma was wafting. He glanced over to Cat with concern in his eyes; she did not like that look at all. After so many years, she had hoped he would understand she did not need someone worrying about her. She had managed just fine on her own.

"Dr. Grant! It is so good to see you!" JJ pulled Cat out of her head when she wrapped her arms around her in a big hug. The blonde agent had a huge grin that was reflected in her eyes. "I don't think I will ever be able to express my gratitude to you. You saved our family. I'm sure you remember Henry here."

"Of course!" A little boy whose hair matched his mother came up to Cat. He stuck close to his mother's side but once he saw Spencer his face lit up.

"Uncle Spencer!"

"Hi Henry, how are you doing buddy?" Spencer bent down to hug the boy. Cat couldn't help but smile at the joy that was clearly written all over the genius' face.

"How are you doing Dr. Grant?" Will walked up next to JJ and put his arm around her waist.

"I'm doing well, Detective LaMontagne. Very happy to see how much better you are doing. It's nice to see patients out of the hospital and doing normal things," she smiled, it really was rewarding to see how her job affected others. It assured her that there was some good among all the bad things that came through the hospital.

"And it's nice to see someone making our Pretty Boy here so happy," a very handsome African American man came up beside Cat. He was a little shorter than Spencer but still towered over Cat. She looked up at him trying to recall his name. Derek? That sounded right. He looked down and met her eyes, giving her one of the warmest smiles she'd seen. "Looks like Boy Genius has found a Girl Genius. What's up Dr. G?"

"Just waiting for some food. This is a dinner party, right?" The others all laughed at her small joke.

"Doc's right, Rossi. What's taking so long?" Derek glanced over the counter where Rossi was checking on whatever concoction he had in the oven.

"You cannot rush perfection!" The older agent shot back.

Cat missed whatever comeback Derek had because right then Henry ran over and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to stand with him and Spencer. "Come watch Uncle Spencer's magic trick."

"Okay Henry," she sat down next to the boy on the floor, facing Spencer as he pulled out his cards and began to shuffle them.

"You're the doctor who saved Daddy?" Henry kept his eyes glued to Spencer's cards but they both knew the question was for Cat. Spencer quickly glanced at her to see her reaction.

"I am, buddy."

Henry didn't respond, he just kept watching Spencer shuffle and then fan the cards out in his hands.

"Pick a card, Henry," and he did. "Now, look very closely at your card before putting them back. Good, very good." He shuffled them some more, Henry completely entranced by the movement of the cards. Cat looked between the young boy and Spencer, wondering what was going through Henry's mind about her.

"Okay Henry, is this your card?" Henry shook his head. "What about this one?" Another shake. "What? Impossible! Hm, maybe is back here?" He reached behind Henry's ear and pulled out a quarter. "Ah!" He reached behind his other ear and pulled out another quarter, then behind both of Cat's ears. "Oh my gosh Henry, your rich!" He put all the quarters in front of the smiling Henry, who was blown away by his uncle's magic tricks.

Henry looked at Spencer and then gave him a hug before he stood up. But instead of going over to his parents he held out his hand to Cat. She took it and he tugged on her arm, telling her he wanted her to stand as well. When she did, Henry plowed into her and wrapped his arms around her. The young boy held her as tight as he could. She stood there in shock for a moment before wrapping her arms around him too.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"You are very welcome, Henry," she responded, giving him a small squeeze before he let go and went over to his parents. She looked back at them and they gave her reassuring smiles. An arm wrapped around her shoulders as Spencer came up next to her.

"Is that a tear I see running down your face?" Spencer asked.

"Yes, your magic trick was so cheesy it's making me cry."

"Yep, that's totally why you're crying."

"It just took me by surprise. Some kids will say thank you, others will be focused on their parents they kind of forget you are there. There are even some who forget who you are so when you see them later they're scared of you. That…that was just so forward, and had so much raw emotion I just…I just did not expect that," she wiped the tear from her cheek and looked up at Spencer. He was still staring at Henry, JJ, and Will, deep in thought. After a moment he looked down at her and smiled, pulling her closer to him. "He's a good kid."

"Yeah, yeah he is."

"Dinner is served you impatient wolves," Rossi called over to them as he carried some of the food outside. Cat hadn't noticed but a big table had been set up in his backyard.

"Oh good, we are right on time then," a voice called from the front door. The man she recalled as Aaron Hotchner was holding the door open for the boy who must be his son. "Sorry everyone, I told Jack we couldn't leave until he had finished all of his homework. Math took a bit longer than expected."

"I guess that can be forgiven. How ya doin' Jack?" Derek laughed and held up his hand to give Jack a high-five before heading outside with him.

"Ah, Doctor Grant, what a pleasant surprise," Aaron Hotchner said as he came into the kitchen area.

"I keep forgetting you met everyone at the hospital already," Spencer said, trying to hide his moment of confusion.

"So am I to understand you brought a date, Reid?" Hotch finally noticed Spencer's arm still around Cat's shoulders. He quickly dropped it, but he couldn't shake the red forming on his cheeks.

"Our Junior G-Man is growing up," Penelope interrupted, taking Cat's hand. "Now come on, I wanted to learn all there is about Girl Genius while we eat."

 **Rossi's POV**

While Rossi felt a little bad throwing a dinner party to confirm his own suspicions about Cat Grant without hunting her down at the hospital, he had to admit the evening was very fun. The team was finally able to enjoy themselves and let off steam after a tough case down in Texas. And they also could be happy despite having Alex leave them.

It was also entertaining to see Penelope interrogate Cat with all sorts of random questions. The poor girl looked terribly uncomfortable next to the eccentric technical analysist. And poor Hotch had to explain to Reid that he could not come back to work tomorrow. After Reid asked what sort of paperwork he needed to fill out tomorrow, Hotch tried to explain that a bullet to the neck required a much longer recovery time than a single day off. Reid just did not seem to understand that at all.

When dinner was finished Hotch, Will, and Derek helped Rossi clean up the dishes and the counters. Derek grabbed another bottle of wine and took it out to the others with Will and Hotch following behind. Rossi did a quick sweep of the kitchen before heading out as well. He stood at the doorway and looked around. Penelope and the kids were mesmerized as Spencer did another magic trick. Derek and JJ were watching them while Hotch and Will were deep in conversation at the table.

Rossi head over to the table where Cat sat observing the others. He sat down next to her and said, "How was dinner?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, clearly having zoned out while watching everyone. "Oh, Rossi. Um, it was delicious. You were not lying when you said you were a cooking guru."

"I am hurt that you would question my abilities. But I am very glad you enjoyed your first meal at Casa di Rossi." She gave a small giggle. "So, how have you been, Abigail?"

Cat's giggling stopped and she looked over at him with wide eyes. "Excuse me?"

"How are you doing after all these years, Abigail?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you're talking about. My name is not Abigail. It's Cat," she turned away from him but Rossi put persisted.

"Cat, I know who you are. Your name is Abigail Warner. You are the daughter of Agent Terrance Warner. He was brutally murdered when you were nine years old," he kept talking hoping she would confirm his suspicions. He needed to know he was right and he was not going crazy. The flashback and the picture were clues but she was the proof he needed. The proof that that poor, terrified little girl had turned out okay after everything she had been through.

 _I'm scared. I have no one._

"Stop. Just, please, stop. I haven't heard those names in a long time," she turned back to face him. The look on her face one Rossi had never seen on a victim before. He felt bad for this girl, he was digging up memories she had probably buried and kept hidden for years.

"I was right."

"Yes. You were right. I'm sorry I did not want to confirm whatever obsession you have with my history. Why did you want to know that so badly? Is it not acceptable for me to want to forget that day?"

"I'm sorry. I thought I was going crazy that day in the hospital. I've been doing this for so long, I was afraid all the people I have met over the years were blending together but I knew there was something different about you. I needed to confirm I was not making it up."

"You weren't."

Cat looked away again, her gaze focusing on Spencer as he pulled a rainbow sash out of his hand and threw it to Jack. Rossi followed her gaze, now feeling guilty for his determination to uncover the secret this girl had. Of course he wanted to confirm his own sanity, a job like this could drive any normal person crazy. But it would do just as much damage to the victims who dealt with the psychos Rossi and his team spent their lives trying to catch.

"I am sorry Abigail…"

"Don't call me that. I haven't heard that name in 16 years; that is not who I am anymore."

"Of course. Cat, I am sorry. Your case is one I will never forget, but I lost track of you. You and your aunt…you stopped writing. Without the updates, I wasn't reminded of you or Rosie and it fell to the back of my mind. But seeing you, your eyes, your father's eyes, jogged something in my head and I needed to solve the puzzle."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Why did you stop writing?"

"We're in Witness Protection, writing people from our past is dangerous enough. But since we had Michael and you work for the FBI, they figured it would be okay. But seven years ago, a family was found by the man hunting them and one of them got killed after someone from their past contacted them."

"Haley…"

"Yeah, I think that was her name. So after that incident, the program had us stop all communication with you and Gideon. They said it would be safer. I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay, I understand. I'm just happy to know that you turned out okay. You have grown into a wonderful woman. Your father would be very proud of you."

"Thank you Rossi," Cat met his eyes and smiled. Rossi returned it, glad he had the closure on the case that had been haunting him the past few months. "Well, I am getting a little tired. Thank you for the wonderful meal. This has been a very fun night."

"Good night, Cat. I'm glad you and Spencer were able to come together," joined her as she got up and held out his hand to her.

"Good night, Rossi." She shook his hand before heading over to Spencer. Rossi watched as the two said goodbye to everyone and headed out.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **Spencer's POV**

Spencer went to sleep that night thinking about the dinner party. He was still confused about Rossi's impromptu party planning, which was incredibly out of character for him, but it was a much needed stress relief after the crazy year they had all had. And he couldn't express to Cat how much he appreciated her tagging along for it. Although he knew something was up with her.

She had tried to hide the fact that something was bothering her when she came up to him at the end of the night. When he'd asked, she only responded that she was getting tired. But he saw the quick glance she had given to Rossi when they left. They had been talking for a while when he and Garcia were playing with the boys and Spencer had made sure to keep an eye on the situation. He had decided to drop his investigation into her background while he was trying to regain her trust but he knew Rossi had never given up. Maybe he had found something. But why would Rossi keep that from him? He knew that Spencer was desperate to find out what Cat was so afraid of.

He pushed away those thoughts as he felt a headache start, deciding it would be better to just call ask Rossi himself than figure out the agent's reasoning. Or maybe he should just ask Cat in the morning what she and Rossi had talked about. It would be better than going behind her back. But pushing her on the subject might make her put her guard up again when he had just gotten her back. While she had mostly forgiven him, he still felt like there were eggshells placed at odd intervals around her. They were like ammonium perchlorate, they were strong right now but if he mixed something in their relationship would self-combust like a rocket. He couldn't lose her so soon like he did Maeve. He actually really liked having her sleep on his couch.

He let out a small laugh; she loved his couch, so much so that she had insisted on sleeping there again tonight. She said it was partially because she had never slept so well at home like she had here, but mostly because if she didn't stay the night she was sure he would try and sneak off to work in the morning. He had complained the whole drive home about Hotch refusing to let Spencer come back to work. It was just a neck wound, it hadn't hit his artery. If he could walk he could work. But with Cat being a surgeon and all, she had sided with Hotch on the issue. Traitor. When he said that she had only laughed and turned up the music in the car. But if his injury got her to stay with him, he would accept his punishment of being homebound.

He finally let his mind calm and fell into a deep sleep with a smile on his face.

 **Cat's POV**

Cat and Spencer fell into a pattern for the next two months while Spencer recovered from his neck injury. She would spend the night on his couch, the most comfortable place she had ever slept, and wake up to make breakfast for the two of them. The day after Rossi's dinner party she had forced Spencer to go grocery shopping with her. He wasn't living if he did not have orange juice and bacon in his apartment. And since he would be home for a decent amount of time she made sure he had actual human food to make other meals with as well.

In the afternoon Spencer would meet her somewhere near the hospital for lunch, or if she had a packed schedule he would bring her something and they would eat in the cafeteria. Sometimes Savannah would actually join them if they stayed in for lunch, which Spencer loved because he could gossip about Derek. It was unusual for her to actually be social but it was making her a lot happier. Even her coworkers had started commenting on her cheery mood. During simple operations she would talk with the others in the OR. One intern at the hospital asked if she was okay because Cat had said hello. When she asked Savannah about it, she had responded, "You are just always so serious at work, it's a bit of a shock to have you interacting so openly with others."

After she would get off work she and Spencer would go try and do something unusual to keep him out of the house. One night they went to a horror movie, although they left part way through because they just couldn't handle the jump scares. They ended up sitting on a park bench finishing up their popcorn and people watching. Another night they went to the museum, which was mostly Spencer giving Cat detailed history of everything in the building. Her favorite adventure was taking Spencer to see her favorite ballet, _Anastasia_. He was adamant against going, insisting they just stay in and watch a movie, but she finally wore him down by saying she would not make bacon for breakfast the next day. He asked why she was so insistent about going, just so he would understand why she threatened to take away the most delicious food in the world in exchange for a simple ballet. Cat could not tell him the real answer: that it was the last show she saw her mother dance in. Instead she just said she had performed in it in college, which was technically true.

To Cat's surprise, Spencer actually did enjoy the ballet and said he would not fight her if she wanted to see another one. But he still made her promise to do something he wanted to next.

"Fine, what do you desperately want to drag me to?" Cat playfully poked him in the arm as they walked to her car.

"Take me to dinner with your family," his response made Cat stop in her tracks.

"What?"

"We've been kind of sort of 'dating' for nearly six months, I think it's time I met your parents," Spencer turned to look straight at her, face completely serious.

"But I have not met your parents, why should you meet mine?"

"Well, my mom is in Las Vegas in a mental hospital and I pretty much hate my father. That makes it a little hard for me to introduce you to them."

"Fair enough."

"You have dinner with them once a week. I doubt they would mind you calling them up to inform them you're bringing a guest. And I've heard your dad on the phone joking about you finding a man."

Cat's mouth turned up slightly at his last statement. Michael and Rosie had noticed she had been happier as well the past few months, and insisted on meeting him soon. She figured it might not be too dangerous to bring Spencer to dinner this week. Besides, he and Michael might get along pretty well. And she wanted Rosie to meet the man she was falling in love with soon. Rosie's health had started to deteriorate rapidly the past two weeks and the doctors could not do anything else.

"Fine. You have a deal," Spencer punched the air with his right arm in victory before turning around and skipping the rest of the way to car, leaving Cat to jog to catch up with him.

* * *

She had been right; Spencer hit it off really well with Michael. They talked for hours about various books and favorite authors, and eventually covered nearly every type of literary genre Cat knew. When Cat and Rosie had gotten the courage to join the fast paced conversation the two men had moved onto the topic of writing styles. No one would ever guess that Michael was a book worm from the look of him. It made Rosie laugh whenever Michael recommended some new series he was reading when Cat came over for dinner. Cat guessed that was part of what made Rosie fall for him, he was tough outside but the biggest sweetheart when you got to know him.

"You love him, don't you?" Rosie asked her when they were watching the two men geek out on the living room couch.

It took her a moment but Cat responded, "Yeah, I really do. How did you know?"

"You have the same look on your face that I did when I watched Michael play with you after the incident."

"He's the first person who has actually gotten me to open up to them, and then done the same in return. He does not force me into anything, just waits for me to be ready. I feel like I can be myself with him because he will not judge me for it. We have both been hurt, both have baggage we carry around but it does not stop us from living. He is strong even though he does not realize it. And I love watching him when he does this," she and Rosie shared a small laugh.

"Have you told him?"

"Not yet, I am waiting for the right time."

"There is never going to be a right time. You just have to say it. And you need to say it before it's too late." Rosie got quiet, making Cat look over at her aunt. She was staring at Michael with sad eyes, tears welling up in them. Cat grabbed her hand to pull Rosie from her reverie.

"I don't want you to go."

"I know sweetheart, but there's nothing more they can do for me," Rosie pulled Cat into a hug, holding her tight.

Cat buried her head in her aunt's shoulder, "I'm not ready. You can't leave."

"You've been through so much, seen so much more than anyone your age should have had to. But you're here. You made it. I know you'll be strong and pull through it. You might even handle it better than Michael," Cat laughed as much as she could through the tears. "I'm just happy I'll leave knowing you have found someone who will stay by your side through it all. All I've wanted was for you to be happy. Thank you for giving me the sunshine my life needed."

"I love you Aunt Rosie."

"I love you too Abigail," Rosie murmured into her hair before giving her one last tight squeeze. "Now, I think it's time we break up whatever is happening on my nice leather couch." Cat looked into Rosie's reassuring eyes and gave her the biggest smile she could muster before they turned towards Michael and Spencer.

 **Spencer's POV**

It was Spencer's last day of recovery before he could finally get back in the office. Hotch said he might have a week of desk work before they would approve him for the field but at least he could get some work done. As much as he loved spending every day with Cat, he was itching for some paperwork to do. They decided they would get some exercise since he would be at a desk for a while and she had a lot of research to do on her Schizophrenia trial. A picnic and walk in the park was the easiest idea they could come up with, neither of them wanted to drive to a hiking trail and get that sweaty.

After walking for an hour or so, they found some grass under a big tree and spread out the blanket and food they had brought with them. Lots of sandwiches, fruit, a couple of cupcakes and lots of orange juice. Cat insisted it was helping him heal but he suspected she was trying to make up for all the times he didn't drink it while on cases. Either way, she had brought multiple containers.

"You know, I am actually going to miss having some breaks from work," Cat said before she bit into her sandwich.

"Don't you mean me?" Spencer jokingly asked.

"No, definitely the break from surgery, you're just a little glimmer within the break."

"I see. So I guess you wouldn't mind if I just stop letting you sleep on my couch."

"You wouldn't."

"We'll see," Spencer's mouth turned up as he took a bite.

"Definitely no more bacon for you then," they both laughed since they knew their threats had no backing, just playful jokes. As their laughter died they both watched the various park patrons walk along the path. There were couples holding hands, children chasing each other, and singles walking their dogs. Spencer glanced over at Cat who was lost in thought somewhere, her right hand playing with the necklace she always wore. He had never really focused on it before but noticed she always played with it absentmindedly. "What is your necklace?"

Cat met his eyes with surprise, unclasping the necklace and holding it out for him to see. He took it from her gingerly. The pendant was a small pair of silver ballet shoes, the laces colored pink. It was about the size of a nickel but the detail on the shoes was impeccable. "It's beautiful. How have I never noticed this before?"

He turned the shoes over in his hands to admire it more. Something on the back caught his eye. An engraving:

 _6-15-81_

 _TW & CS_

"Who are TW and CS?"

"My aunt and uncle," Cat said almost too quickly, as if the answer had been rehearsed.

"But these are not Rosie and Michael's initials," Spencer stared Cat in the eyes, almost begging her to question him. Instead, she just stared back with wide eyes. His statement had caught her completely off guard. "Our second meeting at the coffee shop, we discussed our families. You told me why you transferred to Bethesda because your mom had been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. You had originally started to say your aunt but corrected yourself halfway and said your mom. You also said your relationship with your mom was complicated. However it is your aunt who tells you that you let your genius go to your head, words that Rosie said when we were at dinner while you updated them on the journals being published on your new trial. I put it together Cat."

"I-no-I-" Cat began to respond but just looked down at the blanket.

"You can tell me Cat. What are you so afraid of that you can't let me in?" Spencer held the necklace out to Cat, hoping the gesture would assure her that he would be there.

She looked at his outstretched hand, taking the necklace before meeting his eyes. Her dazzling blue eyes softened a bit. Cat opened her mouth but before she could say anything the first few notes of _Beauty and the Beast_ sounded. As Cat reached into her purse to find her phone, Spencer let out a small sigh. He had been so close to learning more about her. He shook his head; now was not the time to get upset. A cry pulled him out of his head. His eyes moved to Cat and he immediately moved closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She was crying. He never saw her cry.

"Okay, I'll be there in like, ten minutes." Cat hung up the phone and pulled away from Spencer. As soon as she got up she started packing up the picnic.

"What's wrong? Cat? Cat!" She look at him, as if forgetting he had been there at all. Tears ran down puffy face, falling off her chin and dotting her pink dress. Spencer reached to grab her hand but she backed away.

"It's Rosie. Michael said this…this is it. I…I need to get…to the hospital." She was hiccupping through her sobs. Spencer's heart wrenched, he had never seen her like this. Sure she had been upset after he had gotten shot, but she had been calm. Her sharp tongue and joking attitude still intact enough to keep Spencer happy while not working. But in this moment, when she knows her aunt is dying and she can't do anything to help, Spencer was watching the girl he loved fall apart.

"I'll take you," he said firmly, keeping his voice steady and putting as much force in it so she would know not to argue with him. He must have done it right because she only nodded and continued packing everything up.

 **Cat's POV**

 _Can't he drive any faster!?_ That was the only thing that went through Cat's head as Spencer drove her the twenty minutes it took to get to the hospital. That and Michael's words when he gave her the news on the phone. _It's time Cat. You need to get here soon. The doctor's said it won't be much longer._

She stared out the window for the entire drive. Her foot tapped continuously on the floor of the car. The short drive seemed to take hours. She could feel Spencer constantly looking over at her, wondering what he could say that would make her feel better. But they both knew there was nothing. She felt bad, she had been a little rude as they left the park and he had only been trying to help. But she was a little mad along with everything else. He had asked about her parents. He had figured out her secret about Rosie and Michael when he had said he would let her decide when to open up. She should have known that would have though. He was a genius as well. Cat pushed those thoughts away though, she had to focus on Rosie. She pleaded that her aunt would hold on long enough for her to get to the hospital and say goodbye.

As soon as Spencer pulled up to the Emergency Entrance Cat threw open the door and bolted inside. She didn't even take the time to close the door to the car. Didn't stop at the nurses station to check in; Michael had given her the room number. Thankfully the nurses didn't stop her. Her expression probably said it all, with the puffy red face and tears streaming down her cheeks. They had seen it before. She raced down the halls, her feet couldn't carry her fast enough. When she finally saw the number she was looking for she stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm her ragged breathing.

The room she entered looked just like any other hospital room she had been in, but the atmosphere was overwhelming. Of course she knew the feeling of death, she had plenty of patients whose families were angry at her or upset of the loss of their loved one. But it was different to be a part of the grieving family, knowing someone you care about is going to die and being powerless to stop it.

Rosie was laying in the bed in the middle of the room with Michael on one side and bunch of machines hooked up around her. Cat walked to the side opposite side of the bed from Michael and grabbed Rosie's hand. It was cold, the skin much paler than it had been when she and Spencer were over for dinner just a week before. Blue and purple bags covered the nearly translucent skin under Rosie's eyes. Cat let out a short sob and then a hiccup, unable to hide her sadness from the last member of her family. As much as she loved Michael, Rosie was the last connection she had to her father. She had taken raised her when her parents couldn't, stood by her through the hardships after the incident. Rosie knew her little quirks, like how she only wanted to eat rice and butter when she had the flu or she needed a cold glass of milk and a story before going to bed or that when anything _Lion King_ related came on it needed to be sung at the top of her lungs. Simple things that they mutually understood about each other would be gone, and although she could tell Spencer or Michael it just wouldn't be the same.

"Shh sweetie, it's okay," Rosie murmured, her voice as quiet as a mouse. She rubbed her thumb over Cat's hand but it was as light as a feather.

"I thought I was prepared for this but I'm not. I can't let you go," Cat said through her constant hiccups. Michael reached across the bed to take Cat's free hand and giving it a tight squeeze, a welcomed touch.

"It…will be okay. I know…you will be…just fine. Both of you will…" Rosie's breathing was labored. Her cancer finally taking its toll on her after nearly two years. "I'm glad…you are here. I love you…both. Take…care of one…another."

"We will Rose," Michael said softly. "I love you so much, darling."

"I love you Aunt Rosie." They stayed like that, holding each other, until the machines' beeping got louder and faster warning of Rosie's dropping beats. Nurses ran in to turn off the alarms since she had signed a DNR. It only took another ten for the machines to show that Rosie was gone. Michael rested his head on the bed, only the shaking of his shoulders indicated that he was truly crying. Cat's sobs sped up and she pulled her hand from her aunt's. She couldn't bear to be in the room any longer. When she got to the hallway she went to the wall and put her back to it and slid down onto the floor. Pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head against them she let out all of her pent up emotions. Anger, sadness, frustration, everything came pouring out of her. She hadn't cried like this in years, not since a sad little girl sat outside her father's office with a stuffed bunny rabbit.

It was not until a strong arm wrapped itself around her shoulders that she finally looked up to see the commotion happening inside her aunt's hospital room. Michel had gotten up and was standing off to the side while nurses unhooked her the machines from her aunt. Cat looked to the side to see who had sat down with her since Michael was clearly still with Rosie. She was met with concerned brown eyes and a sad but warm smile.

"Hi. Muffin?" Spencer held up a chocolate chip muffin on a plate.

"I can't believe the cafeteria actually had a chocolate chip muffin," Cat tried for a joke but her tone was still full of sorrow, followed by another hiccup.

"Yeah, it was a little odd," Spencer looked at the muffin before setting it down again. "I'm so sorry."

"It was bound to happen eventually, I guess I just never realized how soon it would come. Even working around so much sickness and death I was never prepared for it to happen to me again." She looked at Spencer and knew he had caught her little slip up, but thankfully he said nothing. "It's just, I have no one now. I'm alone again."

"You're not alone. You have Michael," Spencer pulled Cat close and she rested her head on his shoulder. She looked at Michael through the doorway, he met her eyes and they smiled at each other sadly. "And you have me. I told you, I'll never leave you."

"I love you, Spence."

"I love you too, Cat."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **Spencer's POV**

Michael took Cat home that night; they wanted to spend some time just the two of them to grieve and remember Rosie. Spencer, as much as he wanted to go with her, thought that it was best for it to be the two who loved her most. So once he saw the car lights disappear, he hopped in his own and headed home. He needed a bit of a rest before work tomorrow. He was ready but he knew he would be drained after a day's worth of work he had not done in over a month. But oh the things he needed to tell Garcia about Morgan, the exhaustion would be worth it.

The entire drive home though he could not stop thinking about that moment in the hallway. He felt terrible about being so happy after what Cat had just gone through. He went through it with Emily and then with Maeve, he would never wish that on anyone. But she had said it. Those three little words he never got to tell Maeve, the ones that had haunted him for two years, Cat had said them. And he had said them back. He didn't think his smile could get any bigger. His heart felt like it would explode from how much it was pounding. It was all he could do to get it to slow enough for him to fall asleep. After reliving that moment one more time, he finally calmed himself enough to drift off to sleep.

* * *

He walked into the bullpen with a bounce in his step. Not only was he excited to be back at work, but he also could not wait to tell JJ about Cat. He had told given her bits and pieces of information from their various adventures around the city, but this was something he needed to tell her in person. Oh, and Garcia needed to know everything Savannah had told him of course. Setting down his bag at his desk he quickly surveyed the room. For this hour the office was unusually busy but his team was nowhere in sight. There were people he had never seen before scattered around, all of them holding folders and shifting nervously on their feet. Spencer was not one to talk to strangers but he went up to an unusually thin man around Hotch's height with greased back hair and beady brown eyes. He seemed the least nervous out of the group and the most likely to talk to Spencer, even if the man made him a little uncomfortable.

"Hello," Spencer tried his best to sound confident.

"Hi," the man answered curtly, glancing at Spencer before sweeping his eyes around the room again. It seemed like he could not decide what to concentrate on.

"How are you?"

"Good." Maybe Spencer had been wrong about how open this guy would be.

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, I'm just curious as to what all these people are doing here? I've been out of the office for a while." Spencer thought maybe being honest would get him to talk.

"Interviewing for the open profiler position." The man gave Spencer another look and then an up-and-down surveying glare. "Isn't that why you're here?"

"No, I work here. Dr. Spencer Reid," Spencer held out his hand for the man, standing a bit taller to show the man he was actually an agent and not an awkward kid.

"Sure," the man rolled his eyes and looked over in the direction of Hotch's office. Spencer followed his gaze and saw him in there with an older woman who looked to be around Strauss' age. "Can this guy move any faster? When I worked here everything had a schedule, cannot believe how much it has all fallen apart since then."

"I don't think-…" Spencer was cut off when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Morgan coming over to him. Seeing his best friend's familiar face was such a relief, even though he wanted to get some information out of this strange man he felt there was something off about him.

"Reid, Garcia needs us in her office," Morgan came up next to them and gave the strange man a funny look, one that Reid recognized as the face he normally gave suspects.

"Okay. Good luck…I'm sorry I don't remember getting your name," Spencer held out his hand to the man.

"That is because I did not give it to you," the man didn't even bother to look at Spencer. He was hurt but kept it off of his face as he turned to follow Morgan to Garcia's bat cave. It was common for people on cases to treat Spencer with a little suspicion, but most people in the FBI knew who he was and respectful. Whoever that man was either had something against him or was trying to hide something. Either way Spencer hoped Hotch felt the same way and did not hire him.

"I'm surprised Hotch still hasn't found someone to take Blake's place on the team."

"She's a hard act to follow. The candidates have big shoes to fill after Prentiss and Blake," Morgan looked over at Spencer. "I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"Savannah told me about Cat's mother."

"Oh, that. Rosie was a good woman, I didn't know her for long but she was so kind and welcoming."

"How's Cat doing?"

"As best she can. Even though she was sick I don't think they expected her to be gone so soon. She stayed with Michael last night," Spencer looked down at the floor, remembering what happened in the hallway again. "She told me she loved me."

Derek stopped and turned to face him. Despite the previous topic he had a huge grin on his face, "And did you say it back to her?"

"I did." He pulled Spencer into a hug, knocking the air out of his lungs. This was the reaction he had expected from Penelope, not Derek.

"I'm so happy for you, kid." Morgan pulled away and the two rounded the last corner to Garcia's office. He opened the door and the two agents were met with a chorus of, "Welcome Back, Reid!" and a lot of confetti. Garcia, JJ, and Rossi were all crowded in the small computer room with cake and various drinks on a table and a banner that read "Welcome Back" hung across the monitors on the wall. Spencer was not normally one for parties, he made a point of not reminding anyone when his birthday was, but this made him very happy.

"Oh thank you guys!" Spencer went over to his teammates and they all surrounded him in a group hug, even Rossi. "I've missed you all."

"We've missed you too Spence. How's your neck doing?" JJ reached up to check the area where his bandage used to be.

"Just fine, no more random pain so I can finally focus on my chess games again."

"Ah, there's the genius we've missed so much," Rossi chuckled.

"Well now that he's back, I want to hear every detail about your 'vacation.' Savannah tells me you and Cat practically spent every minute together. I need all the dirty details," Garcia grabbed Spencer and set him into her usual chair.

"Pretty Boy here is in love," Derek leaned against the table next to Spencer.

"What?" JJ looked up from where she was cutting a slice of cake.

"It's nothing to get worked up over, we just…said 'I love you.'"

"Spencer that's huge! I'm so happy for you two!"

"You two are going to have the most adorable baby geniuses!"

"Kid it's a big deal!"

"Alright guys, sheesh. Can someone just hand me a piece of cake?"

 **Cat's POV**

Michael and Cat had spent the night talking about Rosie and their favorite memories as a family over the past 17 years. 17. She had forgotten the anniversary; she had been so distracted with work and Spencer and Rosie she hadn't even realized April had come and gone. The realization made her feel even worse. She was a terrible daughter.

When they had woken up that morning they agreed it was best to keep themselves busy and continue their normal work schedules. They were so similar that way, always needing to throw themselves into their jobs to keep themselves afloat after tragedy. Rosie nicknamed them the dynamic duo because if they worked together no bad guys or illness would survive. So that was how they had departed, with a mutual agreement and a heartfelt hug before driving off to their respective work locations.

The Chief of Staff had tried to convince Cat that she needed to take time off after Rosie's death and that she was too upset to operate. And while Cat agreed not to operate, she insisted that work was the only way to cope. She promised she would only be in the lab studying her trial which she needed to make some progress on anyway. After a long staring contest, the Chief had agreed. Trial only. No OR. She was upset that she couldn't cut anything but at least she did not have to sit at home all day.

When her lunch break came, Cat was not ready to sit in the cafeteria with everyone watching her. She had noticed the way people were either avoiding her or coming up to give her hugs when she walked through the hallways. So instead of being the center of attention, she instead walked to her car and called Spencer, informing her boss she would be taking a longer lunch than usual. The Chief was more than willing to say yes.

"Cat is everything okay?" Spencer picked up after only one ring.

"Yes I'm fine. I was actually wondering if you wanted to eat lunch together. Everyone keeps treating me like I'm a glass doll at work and I cannot take it anymore."

"You went to work today? You should be at home with Michael," Spencer sounded exasperated but not surprised.

"Michael went to work too, neither of us could sit in that house all day."

"Alright, we're going to be taking lunch break in ten minutes. I think Morgan is going to get Chinese for everyone so I could have him get some for you too. Any preference on food?"

"Edible food?"

"Haha, very funny. Meet me in the lobby? I'll check you in as a guest."

"Thank you so much Spence."

"You're welcome. I'll see you in a bit." With that he hung up and Cat set down her phone. A weight lifted off of her shoulders as she pulled onto the highway and headed towards Quantico. Little did she know that weight would return just as quickly.

* * *

Cat waited in the lobby of the FBI headquarters for Spencer, standing awkwardly near the doors. It had been so long since she'd been here and the memories were coming back at an alarming rate.

 _The girl ran around the lobby with her brother while their mother watched. Agents laughed as they walked past the two kids playing superheroes and villains. What else could they expect from the children of an FBI agent? Today was their parents' anniversary and they were all going out to dinner. Their mother had insisted they meet and go out together, but the paperwork of his last case was taking longer than normal. But six year old Abigail did not mind. She had always wanted to see where her father worked. Her brother Nathan was not paying attention as she dodged his arm once again and turned to the left. He went to follow but accidentally whacked into someone's long leg and fell to the ground._

 _"Oops, sorry buddy!" A high pitched male voice. Abigail and her mother ran over to Nathan as the owner of the leg helped her brother up. "I better be more cautious with these smaller agents running around the lobby."_

 _"I'm so sorry sir, are you okay?" Their mother said before kneeling down to check Nathan for any cuts or bruises._

 _"I'm fine, Christine. How are you?"_

 _"How do you-Oh, Agent Duncan! It's good to see you," their mother looked up at the man. Abigail didn't notice then but her mother's face became guarded. "Nathan, what should you say to Agent Duncan?"_

 _"Sorry, sir." Nathan looked down at the ground, his face red._

 _"It's okay buddy. I'll be seeing you. Say hi to Terry for me," Agent Duncan waved and walked over to the elevators._

 _"I will," their mother held the two of them close as she followed the agent with an icy stare._

The memory ended and Cat stared at the space in the middle of the lobby where she and her family had been. She could feel her eyes get warm as tears formed and she blinked them away. A slight warmth still lingered on her shoulder where her mother had held her close, the only reminder of the present was the feeling of the necklace around her neck that her hands subconsciously had gone to. It wasn't until someone bumped into her that she finally came completely out of her reverie.

"I am so sorry, I got lost in thought. Are you okay?" She murmured as she bent to pick up the papers then person had dropped.

"It's fine. Maybe next time you should be more mindful of where you stand," they grumbled back, joining her in the paper quest. Cat glanced at the man and stopped. It was him. The man who Nathan had run into when they were playing in this exact lobby. "You hear that girl?"

"Yes…yes…sorry. I will next time. I was just-I am so sorry," Cat grabbed the last sheet and stood up as quickly as she could, ready to bolt and find Spencer. Her mother had been wary of this man so she felt she should be too. Although it had been a while she still trusted her mother's judgement. "Here you go, sir."

"Thank you. Now I hope whenever you're back…Christine?" The man she remembered as Agent Duncan stared wide-eyed at her. Cat stopped at the mention of her mother's name, one she had not heard in 17 years. Rosie had said Cat took after her mother quite a bit, particularly the long hair and button face. But she had her father's eyes. Eyes that were very different from her mother's brown ones.

"I-I am sorry, I-t think you have me…confused with…someone else. I do not know anyone- anyone named that," Cat stuttered out as quickly as she could while avoiding eye contact.

"Are you sure? You look so much like someone I used to know. It's been so long," he reached out to touch her face and she stepped as far back as she could. What was wrong with this man?

"Sir, I assure you I do not know a Christine," she said much more forcefully this time. The attempted contact bringing her back to the mindset she was so used to: defense.

The man was taken aback by her sudden change of tone but his eyes flicked down to her neck and locked onto the one reminder she always had of her past. She could see the realization come to his eyes as he took in her mother's necklace. "Abigail."

But she was prepared for that; she had come up with response in the moment it took him to register who she truly was. Michael had prepared her for a scenario such as this one. "Sir, I just moved from California. I assure you, you must have me confused with someone else. I do not know any Christine's or Abigail's. Now if you will excuse me, I must go find Dr. Reid. He is helping me on some family business."

But when she turned to head towards the elevators Agent Duncan grabbed her wrist, "I know it is you Abigail. I have not seen that necklace in years. Not since that terrible night."

Cat tried to yank her arm away but the man was too strong. "I swear I do not know who you are talking about. Please let me go. I will scream and there are plenty of FBI agents here who would love to hear why you are harassing me," she said in the strongest voice she could muster.

"What's going on here?" Spencer came up next to Cat, his eyes flickering between Agent Duncan and his hand gripping Cat's tiny wrist.

"Nothing, just a small misunderstanding. Thank you for helping me pick up my papers, miss. I'll be seeing you," Agent Duncan let her go but never broke eye contact while he slowly backed up, fixing his suit and checking his paper stack. Then he gave a small smile, turned, and walked away. When she could no longer see him, Cat turned and pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Thank you," she kept her voice low hoping that he could not hear the tremble in it.

"What was that about?" Spencer hugged her back, resting his head on hers.

"I do not know. I just helped him pick up his papers and then he grabbed my arm when I tried to leave." She felt bad not telling Spencer everything but feared that if she mentioned that Duncan had called her Abigail, Spencer would put the rest of the puzzle together. Then she would be in even more danger. Rossi had already pieced everything together but he promised not to tell Spencer.

"That man gives me the creeps. He was here for an interview with Hotch but refused to talk to me about anything. He didn't even tell me his name."

"Me either," she took one last breath to calm herself before pulling away and smiling up at Spencer. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yes. Morgan should be getting back any minute with the food so let's go check you in," Spencer looked at her hand, probably unsure whether to grab it after the wrist thing. Instead she reached out and took his.

"Perfect. I'm starving."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Cat's POV**

The rest of her day after lunch was a significant improvement from earlier. Not as many people stared at her when she walked past and thankfully no one came up to offer condolences. They left her in peace to work on her research, although Savannah did stop by to bring her a piece of vanilla cake from someone's birthday celebration. It was peaceful and uneventful, just what she needed. So at the end of the day when she headed home, she felt that she had nothing to worry about.

When she was about to turn to go to Michael's though, she realized she had nothing to change into. Most of her clothes were at Spencer's but he had texted her saying he needed to stay late, something had come up at the office. Michael oddly had said the same thing and the only clothes that would fit her there were Rosie's which she was not about to use. Quickly, she turned around and went back to her apartment. It had been a little while since she had been back and it was calming to be home at her own place.

She was digging through her purse for her keys as she climbed the last set of stairs to her front door when her phone rang. Pulling it out she saw the ID read 'Spencer Reid.' That was odd since he had said he needed to stay late for work, which was only about 30 minutes ago. She let it go to voicemail, figuring it was probably just a butt dial, and continued searching for her keys. As soon as she found it her phone rang again, Spencer's name once again popping up.

"Hey Spence," she answered.

"Cat, thank goodness. Where are you?" His voice was frantic, almost as if he thought she would not answer.

"About to go into my apartment, why?" She put the key in and turned.

"No, don't go in! Come back to Quantico!"

"Spencer it's fine, I'm just-Oh god," she dropped her purse when she turned on the light to her apartment. Cat made the mistake of taking another step into her apartment, so distracted by what she saw that all sense left her. Everything she had been told was thrown to the back of her mind in a single moment of horror.

 **Spencer's POV**

Spencer was packing up to leave when Hotch came out of his office and called the entire team into the conference room. From the look of Hotch's face and the way Garcia came rushing into the bullpen, Spencer knew it was something serious and they would be there for a while. He quickly sent a text to Cat so she knew. With both of their jobs being so hectic with almost no free time, Spencer had decided to actually try texting. Although he still wanted to stick to the classic flip phone; it was just so much more practical than ones with glass screens.

"Just now I received this message from an unknown, untraceable number," Hotch said once the team was gathered around the conference table with the door closed.

"It was definitely from a burner. I tried to trace it but it disappeared as soon as the caller hung up," Garcia quickly said before Hotch pressed the play button on the machine in the center of the table.

A deep, gravelly, male voice began, _"You tried to hide her from me…But you failed. Ha. I found her…She's mine now."_ A dark laughter followed but Hotch cut it off.

"Do we have any idea who the "her" is?" Morgan asked.

"None. That's all he said."

"Are we sure it's a he? I know it sounds weird but maybe the Unsub used a voice changer," JJ looked around.

"From the possessiveness of the voice and the cruel laughter, it's almost definitely male. Very few female Unsubs, even kidnappers, would go out of their way to taunt us about what they were going to do to a victim," Reid interjected.

"He said we tried to hide her from him, that means the "her" is probably a previous victim," Morgan nodded to Garcia, who sat down and opened her laptop. "Garcia pull up a list of all previous female victims from BAU cases. If we find the girl we might be able to find him"

"Filter out any who did not survive, both as a result of the case and then recently. If he found her, the way he laughs means she is definitely still alive," JJ went around the table so she stood behind Garcia.

"I'm sorry my furry friends, but this is a really long list of people," Garcia sighed.

"Rossi you okay? You've been awfully quiet," Hotch said, looking at the older agent who was just staring at the machine.

"Garcia filter the list so it is only unsolved BAU cases," Rossi called out. The others all turned to look at him with confusion. "He's taunting us. That level of confidence usually comes from someone who got away with a crime and is fairly certain they will get away with another."

"Okay, that makes it a little better but not by much," Garcia looked around, searching for something to help.

"Search for victims who are the sole survivor of their case, like in a targeted case or something," Reid said, the wheels in his brain starting to turn.

"And…nada. Sorry Junior G-Man."

"Reid's onto something though. Garcia go back and put in all cases where the surviving victim went into Witness Protection," Hotch looked at Reid thoughtfully.

"Excellent! That's it! I've got four names," Garcia gave a little clap before reading them off, Morgan and JJ leaning down to look at the list. "Patricia Applebottom, Kailee Bingham, Linda Scott, and Abigail Warner."

"Reid call Cat," Rossi murmured. Everyone looked over to him, the confusion in the room nearly stifling.

"What? Why?" Reid asked but still pulled out his phone, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Now!" Reid dialed. "Garcia, Abigail Warner. That's her. That's the one he wants."

"Dave, how can you be sure?" Hotch went over to Rossi.

"Trust me, I know."

"Oh this poor girl," Garcia moaned as she read over the case file.

"What is it, Baby Girl?"

"It went to voicemail!" Reid couldn't keep the panic out of his voice when he heard Cat's answering machine.

"Try again!"

"When she was nine years old an unknown suspect broke into her family home in Stafford, VA, and brutally murdered her entire family with a shotgun. Everyone. Father, mother, brother. Her mother was even pregnant at the time. Abigail was found hiding in a crawl space in her room by BAU agents."

"Why was this a BAU case?" JJ asked.

"Because her father was Terrance Warner. He had been named Section Chief the same night he was murdered," Hotch answered. "Garcia, where is Abigail now?"

"Cat! Thank goodness, where are you?" Spencer tried to tune out the rest of his team when he heard Cat's voice on the other end. He tried until he heard Garcia's answer.

"She's here. Abigail Warner is Cat Grant." The whole room looked to Spencer, who could feel the world drop out from under him.

"No, don't go in! Come back to Quantico!" His shock was overcome with fear, his brain piecing together what Garcia's information and Rossi's grave look meant for Cat.

"Spencer it's fine. I'm just-Oh god…" Cat stopped mid-sentence. For Spencer there was nothing but him and the phone, his team was forgotten.

"Cat! Cat!" He screamed into the phone. God, why wasn't he there with her? "Cat! What's wrong!?"

"Spencer…"

"I'm here! What's going on? Is anyone there with you?"

"Spence, I'm so sorry. I should've told you everything. You deserved to know."

"Cat it's okay. I know. I forgive you. Just tell me what's happening. Tell me you're okay." Spencer couldn't stop the tears from running down his face. This could not happening. He could not lose her.

He could just make out Hotch motioning for the team to get ready to move out. Morgan and JJ ran out of the room, Hotch following close behind.

"Spence, tell Michael I'm sorry too. And I want you both to know how much I love you. God I love you so much Spe-" a loud thud cut her off and Spencer could hear the clatter of the phone on the wood floor of Cat's apartment.

"Cat! No, Cat!" Spencer gripped the back of the chair he stood behind.

" _I've got her now. You're too late_ ," the gravelly voice from the message answer Spencer's plea before hanging up.

"NO!" Spencer cried out. He collapsed onto his knees, sobbing as the tears flowing freely down his face now. Rossi come over and kneel beside him.

"I'm so sorry kid."

Garcia left her chair and joined them, pulling Spencer into her arms and holding him tight.

"She's gone," Spencer murmured.


	15. Chapter 15

***Hey everyone! College is insane so it's taken me a while to write this chapter. But I finally got it done super late tonight and procrastinated on tons of homework. So this is super long and I apologize for that, but it will hopefully answer some questions about Cat and the incident. I hope you all enjoy! Sorry for the wait!**

 ** _Chapter 15_**

 ** _April 24, 1997_**

 ** _Quantico, VA_**

 _The bullpen was loud and rowdy as usual but there was a tension all around with the election of the new Section Chief. Terrance Warner was seated at his desk focused on his last bit of paperwork from the recent case the BAU solved. Everyone else was discussing the potential candidates for the position but he could not care less. He had gone above and beyond in his work, he had helped out when the previous chief was losing mobility in his hands, and he had consulted on cases outside of his unit. Terrance knew that whatever decision made would be the best one headquarters could make. There was nothing in his power he could do to push their decision one way or another._

 _"Who do ya think it's gonna be, Terry?" A squeaky voice said. Terrance looked up to see his best friend in the BAU, Peter Duncan, standing next to his desk. Peter was average height but very thin. When standing next to Terrance, Peter looked like a tooth pick. Many described him as squeamish and shy because he rarely ever talked and jumped at every little movement. However he was very insightful when it came to difficult cases, he had a picking up on small details of murders that were unique to a killer and what meant the most to them. Some in the office got a little creeped out by how much Peter seemed to know about killers, but it was part of the job._

 _"I don't really want to get into it Pete, it's the board's decision and guessing could only hurt people," Terrance shook his head and went back to his paperwork, only a few more notes to make. He knew how much his friend wanted the position. Peter had been with the unit a few years more than Terrance and after getting denied the Unit Chief position, Peter figured Section Chief would be the recognition he deserved after serving the FBI for so long. For a quiet man Peter sure was ambitious._

 _"Aw come on Terry, you never get involved in office gossip. Just this once say what you're thinking about people here. I won't bug you about it again. Please?" Peter swiped the paper on Terrance's desk._

 _"Peter, seriously, I don't think it's a good idea. Now give it back, I need to get it done before the end of the day," Peter sighed and looked at Terrance with an exaggerated pouty face. He didn't like saying anything bad about his friend but Peter could at times be a little childish. Unfortunately, that's probably why he had not been elected Unit Chief. Terrance stood up and grabbed the paper from the smaller man. "Fine, you're missing out on some serious betting here though."_

 _"I think I'll be okay," Terrance laughed as Peter slunk away to join the apparent pool the others had going on who would be their new chief. As he filled out the last line of notes and gathered up the paperwork spread across his desk, the board members walked into the bullpen and everyone stood to greet them._

 _"Good evening everyone. We just wanted to come by and inform you all of our decision," the director walked in with the other members of the board. Everyone immediately got up and stared hopefully in their direction. "Congratulations to the new Section Chief, Terrance Ward."_

 _A round of applause filled the room. Terrance stood and went to shake hands with the director and the rest of the board. Although he tried to keep a straight face a small smile crept onto his lips. He knew something had been coming, the director had talked with him a few weeks ago about possibly taking on a more authoritative role within the Bureau. But Section Chief had never crossed his mind._

 _"Congratulation, Terrance. Your work has been impressive the last few years, you deserve this," the director took his hand pulled him in for congratulatory hug._

 _"Thank you, sir," Terrance pulled away with a big smile but made sure to compose himself before returning to his desk. A few people gave him hard looks but mostly he was followed by smiles and shouts of congratulations._

 _"Alright everyone, back to work." The noise quieted as people went to finish the work they had been too distracted to do only moments ago. The director came over to his desk and lowered his voice to say, "Your new office is clear, you can move in later today or tomorrow. Come see me tomorrow and I'll give you the orientation. Congratulations once again, I cannot wait to see what you do as Chief."_

 _"Thank you for the opportunity," Terrance allowed himself to smile this time. He could not wait to call Caitlyn and give her the good news. With a new baby on the way, this was just what they needed._

 _"Congratulations Terry," Peter muttered as he walked up to his desk._

 _"Thanks Pe-…are you okay?" Terrance looked up at his friend. Peter's eyes stared down at Terrance's desk, his mouth forced into a line, jaw tense. His skin was flushed and sweat covered his forehead._

 _"I'm fine, really happy for you is all."_

 _"Okay, do you want to come over for dinner? I know Christine is going to want to make something special to celebrate."_

 _"No. But say hi to Christine for me," and with that Peter walked away swiftly. Terrance followed him until Peter disappeared into the elevator. He couldn't concentrate on his work after that unusual interaction. Peter, although a little immature, was always very composed. This reaction was out of character for him. But he could not focus on him for long, he wanted to call home and give his family the good news. Picking up the phone on his desk, he quickly punched in a number and drummed his fingers on the desk until he heard the voice of his wife on the other end_

 _"Hey sweetie! I have some great news for you."_

 ** _Later that night…_**

 ** _Stafford, VA_**

 _"Kids! Are you dressed yet? Your father will be home any minute!" Abigail heard her mother's voice carry from downstairs as she finished putting on her favorite pink dress. Her hands shook, barely containing her excitement. This was the longest her dad had been gone for work and they were having a special dinner to celebrate his return. Mommy also said they had big news to share! Maybe daddy was going to tell them he wouldn't be gone anymore? She hated it when he was gone. When he was gone he couldn't tell her stories before bed time. Mommy would but she didn't have the same funny voices that daddy did. Gah, she couldn't wait until he was home! Grabbing her favorite stuffed animal, her bunny, she ran downstairs to help mommy with dinner._

 _"Gosh Abby, watch where you're going!" Her brother Nathan muttered as jumped out of the way for her. Nathan had just turned 15 yesterday but they had waited to celebrate his birthday until dad was home. Even more reason to be excited because they would have cake with dinner!_

 _"Sorry Nate! I'm gonna beat you downstairs!"_

 _"Oh no you won't!" Nate rushed past her down the main staircase, Abby's shorter legs burning to catch up to her brother who was almost a foot and a half taller than her._

 _"What did I tell you two about racing in the house?" Their mother laughed as they came bursting into the kitchen, a blur of pink and blue clothes._

 _"Sorry mom," they muttered their apology but then immediately stuck their tongues out at each other. "Can you tell us who won though?"_

 _"I think I did since I was in here first," she answered and held out a stack of plates to her son, "Can you set these out on the table?" Nathan obliged and headed to the dining room._

 _"What can I do, mommy?"_

 _"You sweetie, can get the drinks ready," she handed Abigail two glasses and set the other ones of the table. Abigail went over to the freezer to get ice for the drinks just as the front door opened and a voiced called out, "Something in here smells delicious!"_

 _"Daddy!" the two kids called out in unison. Nathan ran from the dining room and jumped into his father's outstretched arms. Abigail started to run but her mom yelled, "Drinks on the table! Drinks on the table!"_

 _Her father entered the kitchen carrying Nathan in a big hug and set him down on the ground. When Nathan was out of the way he squatted down as Abigail crashed into him to give him a tight hug. He picked her up and swung her around. It felt so good to have her father home, the world was a little brighter and felt a little safer. Nothing could go wrong now that he was back._

 _"Alright you two, head on in to the dining room and take a seat. We can hear all about daddy's trip while we have dinner," mommy said once dad had set Abigail back down. The kids ran out as Terrance walked over and kissed his wife. "Welcome home."_

 _"I've missed you so much. Now about this food business," Christine laughed and gave her husband a playful slap on the cheek. The two grabbed various bowls of food and headed to join their kids at the table._

* * *

 _Abigail was ecstatic. Not only had her father told them that he had gotten a new job that would keep him home more, but her mother had announced she was getting another brother or sister! She hoped it would be a sister because Nathan had more fun kicking soccer balls that playing dolls. She had tried playing with him in the backyard but he was way too good. He was a good brother though, he was always willing to be her partner when she practiced new dances. But now that he was in high school he was super busy with homework and soccer. His announcement at dinner had been finding out he was being recommended for the USA soccer training camp over the summer. Abigail wasn't exactly sure what it meant but she had a feeling he would be gone just like her dad used to be. She was hoping it wouldn't interfere with their annual camping trip. Her news at dinner was getting accepted into the School of American Ballet, following in her mother's footsteps as a prospective professional dancer. The best part of dinner though had been the marble cake at the end, the best part of any meal. Marble was Nathan's favorite but Abigail preferred just plain chocolate._

 _She yawned and rolled over on her side in bed, hugging Sprinkles the bunny close. Small rays of orange light filtered through her curtains from the street lamp outside. Abigail focused on the various lines the light made on her carpet and thought about the story her father had told them before bed time. It had been about a prince coming from a far off land to find the princess who had been haunting his dreams. He found her being held captive by an evil sorcerer and fought for her freedom. They fell in love and lived happily ever after. Those stories always made Abigail happy. She dreamed of one day finding her true love. Hopefully he would be a prince so she could live in a castle. Abigail closed her eyes and imagined what her prince might look like and the pretty dresses she would wear._

 _CRASH. BANG. Her eyes flew open to a loud noise from downstairs. Sitting up in bed she pulled the blanket up to nose and watched the door. A whimper escaped her mouth out of fear for what could be happening. Mommy probably dropped something or Nathan had sleep walked into the bookshelf again. But her hopes were crushed when her mother and Nathan came running into her room, pure terror written on their faces._

 _"Get out of bed, Abby," Mommy whispered yet still grabbed her arm and dragged her out from under her covers._

 _"What's going on? Where's daddy?" Abigail cried, her fear causing tears to begin running down her cheeks._

 _"Shh, daddy will be here soon. He's just getting stuff from downstairs," her mother replied, but something in her voice told Abigail she was lying. This made her tears come faster._

 _"Mom what's happening?" Nathan asked as she dragged the children to Abigail's closet, pushing the clothes away so there was a space big enough for the three of them. She pushed Nathan and Abigail in first and then followed while closing the door. "Why are we hiding?"_

 _"Nothing sweetie," she tried again to assure her children but her voice was wavering._

 _"Are bad people here?" Abigail asked. She wrapped her hand around her brother's and squeezed._

 _"No sweetie."_

 _"Is the evil sorcerer here? Like in the story?"_

 _"There's no such thing as an evil sorcerer Abby," Nathan responded._

 _"Yes there is," Abigail stamped her foot, not thinking of the noise she might make._

 _"Abby, sweetheart, I need you to be quiet right now. Can you do that for me?" Her mother turned and knelt down so she was looking Abigail in the eyes._

 _"Why?"_

 _"If you can be quiet we will go get those chocolate chip muffins you love so much. Does that sound good?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"So will you be quiet?"_

 _"Okay, Mommy." Her mother gave her a big hug then got up to face the door again. She opened it a so that a little sliver of light shown on her face. They could hear the echo of footsteps on the wooden floor downstairs and someone whistling. Nathan's grip on Abigail's hand tightened._

 _"Oh Chief Warner…Come out come out wherever you are!" A gravelly voice called from downstairs._

 _"I'm right here coward." Daddy's voice carried up to them, full of confidence. "You?"_

 _"You took everything from me. Now I'll take everything from you." Two loud bangs rang out. Abigail's mother gasped and she could see her eyes were shining more than usual. Tears. Her mother had tears in her eyes. "Oh, Terry. So brave." The voice laughed as the footsteps grew louder._

 _"Christine? Where are you? Don't you want to say goodbye to your husband?" The evil man's footsteps were so loud now, Abigail thought he had to be giant from the echo they made. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp._

 _"No matter what, stay here," Mommy whispered to them. She opened the door a little wider and slipped out, pulling it shut behind them. Nathan and Abigail heard shuffling from the room outside, something she thought might be a drawer. A few more footsteps…and then the squeak of a door._

 _"You monster!" Her mother cried out. More shots than Abigail could count rang out followed by a loud thud. Nathan let go of his sister's hand and went to the closet door to listen more closely. A disturbing laugh began, getting louder and louder until she was sure it was right in front of the door. Her fear was confirmed when the door flew open, the siblings both screaming out. Nathan kicked his leg out, his aim confirmed when the large shadow grunted and hunched over._

 _"The dragon Abby! The dragon!" Nathan kicked the shadow again, giving enough time for Abigail to run past him to the door of her room. When she entered the hallway she tripped over a sturdy mound and fell on her face. Rolling over she met her mother's eyes which stared blankly back at her. A red puddle had formed around her and Abigail had landed in it. Her clothes were wet with the red liquid and it had matted in her hair. She let out a sob and reached for her mother's hand which was gripping an object she had never seen before, but she pulled back as she heard her brother cry out. His cry was followed by another mysterious bang and thud._

 _"Oh Abby, where are you?" the voice called out in a sing-song tone. She forgot her mother and the object and quickly jumped to her feet, running down the hall to the playroom as fast as her legs could carry her. When she reached the door she flicked the light switch on the wall to shut off the hallway lights. Maybe the shadow man would have a harder time finding her in the dark. The playroom was pitch black as well, no light from the street filtering though the massive curtains. Abigail trusted her instincts and made her way to the closet. Once she opened the door she crawled in and pulled in shut as quietly as possible. Finding her way along the floor she made it to what she hoped was the right side and put her hand out on the wall, feeling for a break in the wall. There it was. The crawl space she and Nathan used in playtime as a dragon cave. This was where he wanted her to go. She hoped the dragon would protect her. It was hard for her to get the door open since it was meant to blend in with the wall, but she eventually did and climbed inside with Sprinkles and shut the cave._

 _Footsteps. They were faint but they were footsteps. And there was the whistling. She hugged Sprinkles tight to stop herself from shaking but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop the crying. Burying her face in the bunny would hopefully muffle the noises. She closed her eyes and silently begged someone, anyone, to save her. Her prince. The dragon. Even the evil sorcerer. Anyone was better than whoever was here in her house._

 _"Abigail. Oh Abigail. I know you're in here," she picked her head up at the sound of his voice. It was as if it was in the cave with her. She glanced around terrified searching for him, but no. He was not there. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."_

 _Faint noises that sounded like sirens carried into the cave. The voice let out a terrifying cry but Abigail just smiled. They had heard her plea! "This isn't over Abigail. I will find you. You will be mine." The footsteps got loud and heavy but then grew fainter. Abigail smiled but it didn't last; she cried into Sprinkles, trying her hardest to keep them quiet in case the shadow man was trying to trick her. Her father had always said to be cautious until the men with badges came for her. Hopefully those sirens would know where to find those men. Or her father. He would know where to find her. Or even Nathan, who had told her to come here._

* * *

 _Abigail stayed in the dragon's cave for what felt like days. She heard faint voices come and go through walls but she was too scared to go outside. She could not be sure the shadow man was gone or he was tricking her with the voices. And she definitely did not want to see her mother looking at her that way again. The red liquid she had fallen in was starting to dry on her clothes and in her hair. It felt uncomfortable and gave her a weird feeling in her stomach. She continued to grip Sprinkles as tight as she could and although she was afraid she would rip her bunny, she could not find the strength to let it go. Her knuckles were white and her hands had started to shake. The tears had stopped streaming long ago and the trails on her cheeks had dried up. Her eyes felt raw._

 _She could not blink; she just kept staring straight ahead. The picture of her mother was all she saw when she closed her eyes. No more. She did not want to see it. Abigail wished there was some way to turn her hearing off too. She kept thinking she was hearing those odd thuds over and over again. Whatever they were, she felt sick to her stomach when they played in her mind. Instead she tried to concentrate on the voices that had come back into the playroom outside. One of them was louder than the other, almost as if he was angry or upset._

 _"The girl! They had a daughter! Where is she?" the louder voice said._

 _"We think the perpetrator may have taken her, sir," the quieter voice responded._

 _"This sort of Unsub was most likely a family annihilator; they don't take hostages."_

 _"But we cannot find her anywhere else so that's the only explanation."_

 _"Is it? Call family members, friends. She may not have been home."_

 _"We did that. No one has seen her since school today."_

 _"Then look around the house again! She is here somewhere! The girl is a genius and her father was Terrance Ward. I have a feeling she found somewhere safe to hide when this sicko broke in." The loud voice's statement was followed by grumbling and soft footsteps. The softer voice must not like the louder one._

 _"How do you know she's even alive, Jason?" a new voice echoed into the cave. This one was different than the other, with an accent and soothing tone._

 _"I just have a feeling," the louder voice had calmed down with the arrival of the new one. More footsteps, these ones louder than the others. The sound of the closet door startled Abigail out of her statue mode. She listened as the footsteps wandered around the large area of the closet. It wasn't until she heard them get close to the dragon's cave entrance that she scooted farther back into the darkness. "Where would I go if I was a girl hiding from a murderer?"_

 _"It's a big house, there have to be plenty of hiding places that Terrance showed them."_

 _"Dave, I think I found something." Bright light filtered into the cave as the tiny door was opened. Abigail blinked and tried her best to hide from the two faces that looked inside her safe spot. "Dave go get some help."_

 _The man who must have the calmer voice, Dave, disappeared and the owner of the loud voice filled the space. He looked at her; his face was kind, which was odd considering how much he raised his voice at the other man. "Hi Abigail. My name is Jason Gideon. I worked with your father at the FBI."_

 _"Can you go get him?"_

 _"Abigail, your father is gone."_

 _"Gone where? Mommy said he would be back soon but he never came. Then there were lots of loud banging sounds and thuds. And mommy had red liquid around her which got in my hair. And Nathan never met me in the dragon cave. And the shadow man said he would be back to find me," Abigail could not stop the words from flowing out of her mouth. All of the fear and worry and anger came rushing out as her voice got louder and shakier. She took a deep breath, tears returning to her eyes and washing down her cheeks. "I just want my daddy."_

 _"Those sounds you heard, Abigail. The shadow man shot your parents and your brother. They are not here anymore," Jason tried to reach his hand towards her but she scooted farther back until she hit the wall._

 _"They're dead?" Abigail's tears stopped when the realization hit her, the pieces finally clicking into place in her mind._

 _"I'm sorry Abigail. Can you come with me? We need to make sure you're okay and get you cleaned up."_

 _"Where's your badge? Daddy said to never go with someone unless you see their badge, like his."_

 _The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge identical to her father's. She nodded and crawled towards Jason. He grabbed her arms and helped pull her out of the cave. As soon as she was out more men came in and lifted her onto a bed on wheels. She watched Jason as the men wheeled her out of the playroom, gripping Sprinkles all the way to a big red truck and letting the tears fall freely down her face._

* * *

 _It was a long day after the men took her away from her home after the worst night of her life. Doctors ran tests and cleaned her up and gave her new clothes. Men who worked with her father asked her a million questions about what happened that night when the shadow man broke in. Even after she told them everything she remembered they still had more questions. Abigail did not get angry often but she yelled at them to stop when they asked her if she saw the man's face for what had to be the hundredth time. If she had seen it she would have told them already. That man had taken her family away. She would never forget him or his creepy voice. As she thought about his voice more, the more she thought there was something familiar about it. A tone to it that she remembered in the back of her mind but could not put her finger on._

 _She continued to think about it as she sat on the floor outside her father's old office. Jason had brought her there once the doctors were done with her. The "BAU" was calling her Aunt Rosie to see if she could take her in. Abigail barely remembered her Aunt Rosie. A distant memory of her father arguing with a woman popped into her head but it must have been so long ago that she could hardly picture the woman's face very clearly._

 _But she could see her father's face. She could see it so clearly: his messy hair, his blue eyes that matched her own, and his warm smile that reached all the way to his eyes. She could she her mother running to her father and falling into his outstretched arms, her blonde hair falling over her face as she laughed. She could see her brother chasing a soccer ball over to them, his eyes lighting up as he kicked the ball and made a goal. Seeing the three of them in her mind made her body shake as more tears she didn't know she had begun flowing again. Pulling her knees up to her chin and gripping Sprinkles' arm she let the sobs out as quietly as she could, hoping she could just disappear. Maybe this was all a dream and she would wake up soon with everything back the way it had been at dinner the night before: full of good news and cake._

 _"How are you doing?" The man said as he put his arm around her shoulders. She looked up to see the man named David staring down at her. He had a dark beard and dark brown eyes. They were kind though, giving her the kindest look she had seen in the past few hours._

 _"I…I'm scared. I don't know where to go now." She sniffled, picking up Sprinkles the Bunny and using him to wipe her cheeks. "I have no one." Realizing how true the statement was made more tears come._

 _The man pulled her close and stroked her hair with his other hand. "You have me. I won't let anything else happened to you." That statement meant more to her than the man ever realized._

 _"I want to go home. I want my family back."_

 _"I know. I know. I'm sorry this happened to you. I wish there was something I could do to change this."_

 _"Where is she? Where is my Abby?" A woman came running out of the elevator, her eyes red and frantic. She had been crying too._

 _"You must be Rosie Warren. My name is Jason Gideon and I am one of the FBI agents working your brother's case," Jason came out of the glass doors and walked over to Abigail's aunt. "We will need you to follow us to our conference room to discuss what will happen next."_

 _"I need to see my niece first!" The woman scanned the open area until her eyes found Abigail and David. She looked just like Abigail's father. Her face was the same shape, she had the same hair color although it was much longer, and she even had the same warm smile. The only differences were her dark blue eyes and red lipstick. "Oh Abigail."_

 _Abigail stood up and ran to her aunt, the only person other than David who seemed to care about her anymore. "It's you and me sweetie. I love you so much."_

 _It was small, but those words comforted Abigail. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Jason took them to the conference room to help them start over from this horrible day._


	16. Chapter 16

**I know it's been a while but I have finally gotten my life somewhat put together. I'm back to writing and I hope to update more regularly. Hope you guys enjoy this latest update!**

 **Chapter 16**

 **Rossi's POV**

Garcia had calmed Spencer down enough to get him sitting in a chair at the conference table. Small sniffles came every so often as he stared at the phone waiting for a call, probably hoping for some proof that the Unsub still had Cat alive somewhere. Garcia sat next to him while running her hands in small circles on his back. Rossi stood at the screen taking in every detail of the case the BAU had amassed over the years they looked into the Warner case. There was not a lot to go on at the time. Terrance Ward had managed to call for help before the sick bastard got to him. By the time police had gotten to the house he was gone and all members of the family besides Abigail…Cat… were dead. Since Ward had been named Chief they had called the BAU for backup, figuring it was a targeted attack with how high profile he and his family had just become. Terrance was found on the stairs, Christine outside of the master bedroom, and Nathan inside the bedroom. Abigail was nowhere to be found but he remembered Gideon being convinced that she was still alive and in the house somewhere.

An incoming phone call interrupted his thoughts. Spencer jumped as Garcia reached out and hit the speaker button.

"Hello?"

"Garcia, it's Hotch. Is Rossi there?" Hotch and the others must have reached Cat's apartment by now.

"I'm here Hotch. What's going on?"

"Is there evidence of forced entry or blood?" Spencer quickly jumped in.

"Reid, go home. You're too invested in the case," Hotch sighed, but Rossi could detect genuine concern in his statement and he agreed. Reid's connection to Cat would make moving forward difficult.

"No. I can help. You need my skills to look for connections between the case in '97 and what's happening now," Spencer pleaded with Hotch, wiping his face to clear the wetness.

"Spencer…"

"Please Hotch."

"Okay. But if you become a danger to the case and I tell you to leave, you cannot fight my decision."

"I won't. I promise."

"Thank you."

"Hotch, what is going on with the apartment? Forced entry? Signs of a struggle?" Rossi changed the topic, the only way to help Reid and Cat was to figure out how the unsub got her.

"Nothing. The door was closed and locked when we arrived, the apartment seemed to be in order but…"

"Buts are never good," Garcia murmured.

"It was covered in photographs. They were taped to everything: the floor, the walls, the windows, the furniture. It's probably how the unsub distracted her in order to knock her out."

"What were the photos of?" Spencer asked.

"Cat, her parents, her brother, all of them together," even over the phone Rossi could pick up the uneasiness Hotch felt. How did the unsub have these and how did he get them all printed so quickly.

"Hotch!" Morgan's voice was distant but clear over the speaker. "You need to see this!"

They could hear Hotch walk across the pictures to wherever Morgan was in the apartment and his breath catch in his throat.

"What's wrong Hotch?" Rossi called.

"It's Cat and Reid. The Unsub had a picture of them. It's on the television."

"How…what are we doing? In the picture?" Spencer was falling right back into BAU agent mode but Rossi could see the anger and fear still in his eyes. He's handling this a lot better than Rossi would have thought. _He's determined not to lose her like he lost Maeve._

"It looks like you're eating lunch. Kid, what are you wearing?" Morgan's sudden question threw Spencer off for a moment.

"Um, a dark purple shirt and black tie. Why?"

"Do you remember what Cat was wearing when you went out to lunch earlier?"

"Of course I do. A gray sweater with a pink flower necklace and jeans. Her hair was in a braid that she hung over her shoulder. It's so pretty when she does that, her hair frames her face perfectly," tears started to fall as he thought back to their lunch date. Garcia put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find her, kid. Don't worry," Rossi moved over to stand behind Spencer's chair. His heart clenched. He should have mentioned this to Hotch or Spencer or anyone sooner. Maybe they could have kept a closer eye on her since she started to get closer to the BAU again.

"This photo is from today. It's the only recent one. All of the others we've looked at have been from before the murder of her family that he could have easily gotten when he invaded their home," Morgan told them. Rossi saw Spencer's fist clench in his lap.

"We don't believe anything was taken from the home. There was no evidence of family photo albums or anything missing. The only thing taken was Christine and Terrance Warner's wedding rings," Rossi couldn't look at Spencer.

"How do you-"

"I was there. I was on the team that investigated. Police called the BAU after they realized who the victims were."

"You were there…you told me to call her before Garcia said…you knew," Reid murmured, starting to piece everything together. Rossi braced himself. "You knew who she was and didn't say anything!?"

"Reid calm down," Hotch called over the phone line.

"Why didn't you say anything? I could have been more attentive to people around us! I could have protected her!" Reid jumped out of his seat and glared at him.

"Reid!"

"Spencer!" Garcia got out of her seat too and tried to reach for Reid but he brushed her hand away.

"Kid!" Morgan's voice boomed over the phone and Reid backed up from Rossi. "It wasn't his information to tell. Cat clearly didn't want you to know. She was probably trying to keep the worst day of her life from hurting the happy memories she was making with you. Besides, Witness Protection Program, kid. He can't say anything unless he had reason to believe she was in danger. No one knew the Unsub was still after her and around the area. Even Cat felt comfortable enough to come back for her job." Morgan's words seemed to calm Reid enough that he got back into his seat. He put his head in his hands and let a low, shuddering sigh rake his body. Garcia gave a sad look to Rossi before going back to her seat and resuming her comforting circles on his back.

"Anyway, something must have happened recently that allowed the unsub to find her."

"Her aunt's death," Reid's head popped up.

"Her aunt? I thought her mother died?" Morgan asked.

"No, no. It's her aunt, that's who she lives with. Witness Protection made Rosie her mother so they could stay together but Cat slipped when we first met and almost said aunt. I put it together and asked her about it when she showed me her necklace with her parents' initials on it and tried to say they belonged to her aunt. She didn't really answer so I knew I was right."

"You are, Rosie is her aunt. They called her after the murders and she took Cat in. Michael was the agent attached to their case and he and Rosie developed a relationship after spending so many years together."

"Who took over their case after Rosie and Michael got married? They wouldn't have allowed Michael to stay on it after getting involved with a family member," Hotch was trying to follow but Rossi could tell he was confused.

"I'm not sure. I didn't keep in contact with them after I retired, but I know Jason got a few updates every few years from Rosie. "

"Hotch I found something," Rossi had forgotten JJ was there with the others. He could hear something with a lot of papers get handed to someone and then "oh my god."

"Let's go back to headquarters. We'll see you guys in a little bit." And with that the line went dead.

"What did she find?" Garcia asked as they all stared at the dead speaker phone.

"Whatever it is can't be good," Reid said softly.

"We'll find out in a little bit I guess." Rossi went back over to the screen and started flipping through more of the case file.

 **Cat's POV**

Cat woke up with a throbbing headache and weird pressure around her abdomen. When she opened her eyes all she could see was white but her eyes adjusted to the pain of her headache and after a few blinks she could make out a little bit of the room she was in. It was dark. The windows were boarded up so only a little bit of light filtered through the cracks the wood didn't reach. The light was yellow so she figured it was a street light. A ratty couch sat under the window that was straight ahead of her. To her right was an arch way leading to an empty room. More boarded up windows there. This layout…this was…no. It couldn't be. She squinted to get a better look at the archway. She could just make out faded black lines on the left post, the names "Nathan" and "Abigail" scrawled next to them. Their height markers. This was her old home. She was back.

NO.

Tears started to form and a small cry escaped her mouth.

She went to jump out of her seat but something forced her back down. Cat couldn't budge. Looking at her arms she saw her wrists were zip tied to the metal chair she woke up in and rope was wrapped around her midsection and the chair, keeping her in place. A frustrated cry escaped her as she pointlessly tried to free her wrists. Rationality told her it wouldn't help but too many emotions were clouding her judgement. But she didn't care; she needed to get out. Now. Flashbacks were starting.

Blood.

Popping noises.

Thuds.

Crying.

The creepy laugh.

Wait. That laugh wasn't in her mind. It was real. Cat froze. Fear clenched her heart and her breathing stopped. Tears continued flowing from her eyes and the shaking started. The laugh got louder as the man it came from walked up behind her.

"Hello Abigail. It's been so long."

Cat stared straight ahead but out of the corner of her eye she saw a thin figure move to stand in her line of sight. He blocked her view of the bare wall and couch and she looked up into the eyes of the man who destroyed her family.

"Hello Agent Duncan."


End file.
